pretense

The decision would effectively end even the pretense of the court’s status as a guardian of the Constitution, which makes me skeptical that any of the justices besides Alito and Thomas would back it.

Combine that with more grounded transgressions like infidelity, indoctrination, neglect and stalking, and we are under no false pretenses that these are “good” people in any conventional sense.

But as Douthat knows, some pretense is always necessary to grease the wheels of personal relations, especially of diplomacy.

Others say confirmed Pretendians should be reviewed for possible academic sanctions or be required to return grants or other benefits obtained under false pretenses.

Any pretense of my objectivity was abandoned as soon as the facts were aired in public.