Ostensible vs Pretense - What's the difference?
ostensible | pretense |
Apparent, evident; meant for open display.
* 1956–1960 , (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32:
* '>citation
Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real).
(US) A false or hypocritical profession, as, under pretense of friendliness.
Intention or purpose not real but professed.
An unsupported claim made or implied.
An insincere attempt to reach a specific condition or quality.
As an adjective ostensible
is apparent, evident; meant for open display.As a noun pretense is
(us) a false or hypocritical profession, as, under pretense of friendliness.ostensible
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.
- In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. [...]
Behind the ostensible conflict of the witch-trial lay the usual conflicts of social class, values, and human relationships.
- The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.
Derived terms
* ostensiblyAntonyms
* (meant for open display)References
* ----pretense
English
Alternative forms
* pretence (Only correct spelling in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Commonwealth countries, and historical use in the United States) * (archaic)Noun
(en noun)- with only a pretense of accuracy