something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object; an ostensible reason; excuse: The leaders used the insults as a pretext to declare war.
the misleading appearance or behavior assumed with this intention: His many lavish compliments were a pretext for subtle mockery.
Origin of pretext
1505–15; <Latin praetextum pretext, ornament, noun use of neuter past participle of praetexere to pretend, literally, to weave in front, hence, adorn. See pre-, texture
In April, the president signed a decree, imploring telecoms companies to handover data on 226 million Brazilian citizens to the state statistical organization under the pretext of monitoring income and employment during the pandemic.
Podcast: COVID-19 is helping turn Brazil into a surveillance state|Anthony Green|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The 16-person crew booked an airplane under the pretext of flying to Stockholm for a wedding.
The Failed Hijacking That Remade the Soviet Union|Eromo Egbejule|August 24, 2020|Ozy
In the past, the agency has deployed large-scale shows of force in search of fare violations, partnered with the Sheriff to search for parole violators with fare violations as a pretext, as Voice of San Diego reported at the time.
Morning Report: MTS Says Its Officers Are Exempt from State Law|Voice of San Diego|June 26, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Maula Bux himself was killed in 2006, after being lured across the border by Iranian forces on the pretext of a drug deal.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some Syrian rebel groups maintain that the Americans invented Khorasan as a pretext for the attack.
Spies Warned White House: Don’t Hit Al Qaeda in Syria|Shane Harris, Jamie Dettmer|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But he warned against using the pretext of defense to launch vast campaigns of destruction.
Pope Francis vs. The Warmongers|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That pretext may have come with the violence that erupted in the port city of Odessa on yesterday.
Carnage in Ukraine: Dozens of Pro-Russia Activists Die in Odessa|Jamie Dettmer|May 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is the critical difference that in this case the U.S. administration is not looking for a pretext to go to war.
Western Intelligence Suspects Assad Has a Secret Chemical Stockpile|Noah Shachtman, Christopher Dickey|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Undoubtedly he would have you both arrested on some pretext.
The Ivory Snuff Box|Arnold Fredericks
I made a pretext for going to Paris—the old pretext, the dentist.
The Street Called Straight|Basil King
This was a pretext to represent these fanatics (p. 165) as the instruments of the captive queen.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 5 of 8|Various
The pretext is so flimsy, that we wonder how any prime minister could find courage to state it in his place.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 389, March 1848|Various
Here he remained six months under an assumed name, with the pretext of desiring to purchase hummock-lands.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine
British Dictionary definitions for pretext
pretext
/ (ˈpriːtɛkst) /
noun
a fictitious reason given in order to conceal the real one
a specious excuse; pretence
Word Origin for pretext
C16: from Latin praetextum disguise, from praetexere to weave in front, disguise; see texture