All 3 Uses of
pretense
in
Nectar in a Sieve
- They spoke soothingly-of how much they would earn, and how one day they would return-as one does to a child; and I listened to them; and it was all a sham, a poor shabby pretence to mask our tortured feelings.†
Chpt 12
- I put the clothes away, making a pretence of going to the door.†
Chpt 13 *
- Sometimes I wondered whether her mind was gone, since she could not see what was so plain to others: or whether it was a ghastly pretence fashioned from her mother's pride and sustained through who knows what superhuman effort.†
Chpt 20
Definition:
-
(pretense) a false appearance or action to help one pretendeditor's notes: This is sometimes seen in the expression "false pretense" or "false pretenses" which is just emphasizing that behavior or actions do not reflect the true situation.