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Meanings of pretext in English

Portuguese
pretexto
Catalan
pretext
Spanish
apariencia

An artful or simulated semblance.

pretexto
Portuguese
pretexto
Catalan
agafall
Spanish
pretexto

Something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason.

pretexto
Synonyms
Examples for "stalking-horse"
Examples for "stalking-horse"
1
Google also acted as the stalking-horse bid for Nortel Networks' wireless patents.
Reuters
2
It filed for bankruptcy last month, with Sycamore Partners as a stalking-horse bidder.
Reuters
3
There may have been other causes of offence; the horse was the official stalking-horse.
Plain Tales from the Hills
4
The stalking-horse agreement opens the door for other interested parties to make a bid.
Reuters
5
They had made use of the doctrines as a stalking-horse.
The Inside of the Cup — Volume 07

Something serving to conceal plans.

Usage of pretext in English
1
Opposition groups said the abrupt closure was a pretext to prevent protests.
Reuters
2
In his province, Mirabeau was the cause or pretext for the troubles.
A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Volume 6
3
He would go to South Africa on the pretext of a conference.
A change in altitude
4
Under the pretext of improving the law it can be easily emasculated.
The Progressive Democracy of James M. Cox
5
He stopped the Countess to look at the pretext of this excursion.
Monsieur de Camors — Volume 3
6
The pretext served also to make him the subject of many conversations.
Evan Harrington — Volume 7
7
The ruffians were only glad of the slightest pretext for further brutality.
Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape from the Brigands of Greece
8
They are a pretext, betraying its expansionist designs against Cyprus, Christofias said.
Reuters
9
A pretext, she had said; clearly she had seen through it all.
Wanderers
10
This was a trap of the right, a pretext to win elections.
The Guardian
11
This retreat furnished the enemy with a pretext for claiming the victory.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. / Continued fro...
12
It is only a favourable pretext for the life I have chosen.
The Choice of Life
13
The terrible butchery which is being prepared has not even a pretext.
The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters
14
But, put in the other way, her pretext for coming appeared trivial.
Demos
15
When she needed to cry, the deceased count would be the pretext.
War and Peace
16
Luckily, I have a pretext for my unexpected visit in these dispatches.
Prince Eugene and His Times
About this term
More collocations
Translations for pretext
Pretext through the time
Pretext across language varieties
United Kingdom
Common
United States of America
Less common