Thesaurus results for PRETEXTS

pretexts

noun

plural of pretext

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.

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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 Pages and pages have been written on this passage, seeking out its ideological subtext, its historical context and its intellectual pretexts in classical and early modern thought. — New York Times, 9 June 2026 The Kremlin is making false accusations that could be used in the future as pretexts for military attacks. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026 Americans have a long history of being hurried into war on false pretexts. — Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 3 May 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

Someone who bought a Powerball ticket at a Front Range grocery store this week has many, many reasons to celebrate – 500,000 reasons before tax, to be exact.

— Katie Langford, Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2026
Maresca knows that some players need a fresh start for various reasons, which is why James Trafford moved on, despite his close relationship with the Italian from their time together in the under-23s.

— Sam Lee, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of reasons

Noun

Echoing Turkey’s justifications for its contentious S-400 acquisition completed the year before, which led a ban from the F-35 program and CAATSA sanctions slapped on Ankara, Iraqi officials claimed America offered no viable alternative.

— Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
And in many cases, the same justifications elucidated by Douglass remain.

— Jacob Ware, The Conversation, 31 July 2026

Definition of justifications

Noun

Johnson created the story of Nancy (Emilia Jones), who is not a girlfriend, but a crush who Bourdain foolhardily (and under false pretenses) follows to Provincetown after not getting a writing fellowship.

— Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2026
Trimpey also faces a felony charge of obtaining money by false pretenses.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of pretenses

Noun

Kiffin understands that excuses aren’t going to fly, even if some are valid about recruiting during a time when coaches were traveling back and forth from Oxford to Baton Rouge.

— Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
The Galliano incident had nothing to do with Israel or the kinds of excuses some people are using today for antisemitism.

— Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of excuses

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pretext

pretexts

prettied (up)

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“Pretexts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretexts. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of pretexts

noun

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