as in reasons
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.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pretexts
Gaza showed how power brokers from the White House on down seem eager for pretexts to punish dissent in ways that create a chilling effect, and that the hottest rhetoric from activists can be exactly that pretext.
—
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
Hamas says that Israel is creating pretexts to avoid honoring the agreement.
—Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2025
Those killed under torture, or by starvation, or medical neglect, on the other hand, were transported first to military hospitals where pretexts were invented for the deaths.
—Robin Yassin-Kassab, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
Hamas says that Israel is creating pretexts to avoid honoring the agreement.
—Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2025
Those killed under torture, or by starvation, or medical neglect, on the other hand, were transported first to military hospitals where pretexts were invented for the deaths.
—Robin Yassin-Kassab, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretexts
Noun
-
Despite the fact that South Korea is obviously, for very understandable reasons, suspicious about Japanese nationalism.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The judge cited the 23-year-old defendant's potential for rehabilitation and difficult upbringing as reasons for the lower sentence.—
Monroe Trombly,
Louisville Courier Journal,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
So while the balance-sheet justifications might shift, the general logic won’t.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
30 Jan. 2026
-
In a somewhat baffling aside that failed to meet the moment, Jordan Klepper popped in, supposedly live from Minneapolis, to satirize the ever-shifting goalposts of the administration’s justifications for Pretti’s death.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Johnson eventually pleaded no contest to three counts of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
She is also charged with one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult of between $1,000 and $20,000 and one count of false pretenses of between $1,000 and $20,000.—
Paul Egan,
Freep.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Stop making excuses, show some leadership and act like a governor, Maura Healey.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
7 Feb. 2026
-
No matter the schedule, no matter who’s out, there are no excuses.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretexts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretexts. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
