FALSE PRETENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does false pretence mean? 

• FALSE PRETENCE (noun)
  The noun FALSE PRETENCE has 1 sense:

1. (law) an offense involving intent to defraud and false representation and obtaining property as a result of that misrepresentation

  Familiarity information: FALSE PRETENCE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FALSE PRETENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(law) an offense involving intent to defraud and false representation and obtaining property as a result of that misrepresentation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

false pretence; false pretense

Hypernyms ("false pretence" is a kind of...):

infraction; infringement; misdemeanor; misdemeanour; violation (a crime less serious than a felony)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

 Context examples 

Setting her own inclination apart, to have failed a second time in her engagement to Miss Tilney, to have retracted a promise voluntarily made only five minutes before, and on a false pretence too, must have been wrong.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)