as in justification
a false ground that you give to hide why you are really doing something
The leaders used a minor clash at the border as a pretext for war.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretext
Few Indian movies have so gently zeroed in on the way mental health conditions are used as a pretext to strip people of their humanity, even though the camera rarely probes Sundar enough to rebuild his personhood from the inside-out, or dramatize whatever haunts his waking moments.
—
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 16 Feb. 2025
They could soon be joined by tens of thousands of Syrians forcibly deported by neighboring countries that may use Assad’s departure as a pretext to expel them.
—Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
On the pretext of one final, multi-million-pound art heist, Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement, but at what cost?
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2025
But TikTok argued that lawmakers disliked TikTok and its users’ speech and merely found a pretext for punishing it.
—Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretext
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 16 Feb. 2025
They could soon be joined by tens of thousands of Syrians forcibly deported by neighboring countries that may use Assad’s departure as a pretext to expel them.
—Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
On the pretext of one final, multi-million-pound art heist, Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement, but at what cost?
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2025
But TikTok argued that lawmakers disliked TikTok and its users’ speech and merely found a pretext for punishing it.
—Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretext
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretext
Noun
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Yet to those who didn’t live through the Dončić experience — the front office executives, coaches and scouts who would love nothing more than to get their hands on a player of his ilk — all these justifications for the trade simply don’t compute.—
Sam Amick,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
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Floridians may preregister to vote at age 16 and request vote-by-mail ballots with no justification needed.—
Stephen C. Phillips,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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No one suspected the underlying reason: cognitive decline due to early-onset Alzheimer's disease.—
Laura Kwerel,
NPR,
3 Mar. 2025
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This is yet another reason why AI can serve humanity but can never replace people outright.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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At least juveniles have an excuse: The human brain isn’t fully developed until age 25.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2025
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Canada and China have both questioned the Trump administration’s focus on fentanyl, calling it an excuse to issue his tariffs.—
William Gavin,
Quartz,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington under the pretense of negotiating a peace deal.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
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But in the media-state singularity, there is not even the pretense of space between the two worlds.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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According to certain cosmologies, their souls take on the guise of marine creatures—an idea that struck me as strangely comforting.—
Julian Lucas,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
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Those influences are often deliberate — coy and canny reworkings of previous themes and character types, presented again in new guises and winking reflections.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretext.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretext. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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