pretext

noun
/ˈpɹiːtɛkst/

Etymology

From Latin praetextum (“an ornament, etc., wrought in front, a pretense”), neuter of praetextus, past participle of praetexere (“to weave before, fringe or border, allege”).

  1. borrowed from praetextum

Definitions

  1. A false, contrived, or assumed purpose or reason

    A false, contrived, or assumed purpose or reason; a pretense.

    • The reporter called the company on the pretext of trying to resolve a consumer complaint.
    • [T]hey would ſay [...] that I had quarrell'd / My brother purpoſely, thereby to finde / An apt pretext, to baniſh them my houſe.
  2. To employ a pretext, which involves using a false or contrived purpose for soliciting the…

    To employ a pretext, which involves using a false or contrived purpose for soliciting the gain of something else.

    • The spy obtained his phone records using possibly-illegal pretexting methods.
    • Not all the surviving veteran chiefs would actually fight. Some remained nominally in the resistance but in practice delayed at their bases, pretexting a lack of ammunition for their uncertain inertia.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for pretext. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA