pretence

\pɹɪ.ˈtɛns\

/\pɹɪ.ˈtɛns\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“pretence” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prétention.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pretence · pretence · French

pretence · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for pretence
PropertyValue
Headwordpretence
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɹɪ.ˈtɛns\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “pretence” se place dans la fréquence du français

pretencereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pretence is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɹɪ.ˈtɛns\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pretence, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is pretence, spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prétention.
  2. 2
    Prétexte.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pretence"?
"pretence" is spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɹɪ.ˈtɛns\.
What does "pretence" mean?
As a noun, "pretence" means: Prétention.
How do you pronounce "pretence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pretence" is \pɹɪ.ˈtɛns\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pretence" come from?
"pretence" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list