Pretext VS pretense

Question

What is the difference between pretext and pretense?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

A pretext is a false condition or reason. A pretense is a false attitude or action.

AH020387 · Answer

Can you give me two short sentences using both words, because I'm still confused:(

AH020387 · Answer

Do they both also mean 'excuse'?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Can you give me two short sentences using both words, because I'm still confused:(

Please use Google to find some sentences on the internet; then post them here and we will evaluate them for you.

Anonymous · Answer

A pretext is the lie I tell to justify my actions. A pretence is when I'm playing dumb/feigning ignorance/ignoring the obvious/ and refusing to admit or acknowledge the truth.

"Jon baited Sam into taking the first swing so as to have a pretext for the beating he wanted to give him."
"Roosevelt needed a reason to enter the war in Europe that Congress wouldn't scoff at and he used the outrage about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the claim that the US would be aided in the Pacific theatre by European allies at the conclusion of that conflict as a pretext to enter the European theatre, which was his goal all along."

"Drop the pretence; we both know why you're really here."
"Drop the pretence; we both know what really happened."
"The officer entered the building under false pretences, acting as though he'd heard a cry for help, so anything he saw after entering, regardless of whether it was in plain view or not, cannot be entered as evidence and the arrest should be overturned as baseless." ('false pretences' could be replaced with 'pretext' here but this is a common phrasing/usage)

Pretext VS pretense

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