pretence

Etymology

From Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praetēnsus (past participle of praetendō (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tendō (“to stretch”)).

noun

1. (British spelling) An act of pretending or pretension; a false claim or pretext.
   In pilot work we have used the method described in Experiment 2 on children′s memory for the content of their own false beliefs and pretence and asked them to differentiate between belief and pretence. 1995, Charlie Lewis, Peter Mitchell, Children′s Early Understanding Of Mind: Origins And Development, page 281
   That part of education that turned up in the latest phase of our argument, the cross-examination of the empty pretence of wisdom, is none other, we must declare, than the true-blooded kind of sophistry. 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 231b
2. Something asserted or alleged on slight evidence; an unwarranted assumption.
3. (obsolete) Intention; design.