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.
pre·tence pretences in AM, use pretense1. A pretence is an action or way of behaving that is intended to make people believe something that is not true. Welland made a pretence of writing a note in his pad We have to go along with the pretence that things are getting better
That which is pretended; false, deceptive, or hypocritical show, argument, or reason; pretext; feint
If you do something under false pretences, you do it when people do not know the truth about you and your intentions. I could not go on living with a man who had married me under false pretences
The act of holding out, or offering, to others something false or feigned; presentation of what is deceptive or hypocritical; deception by showing what is unreal and concealing what is real; false show; simulation; as, pretense of illness; under pretense of patriotism; on pretense of revenging Cæsar's death
The act of holding out, or offering, to others something false or feigned; presentation of what is deceptive or hypocritical; deception by showing what is unreal and concealing what is real; false show; simulation; as, pretense of illness; under pretense of patriotism; on pretense of revenging Cæsar's death