pretense

(noun) the act of giving a false appearance. Synonyms: pretence, pretending, simulation, feigning. Example: "His conformity was only pretending."

(noun) pretending with intention to deceive. Synonyms: pretence, feigning, dissembling.

(noun) imaginative intellectual play. Synonyms: pretence, make-believe.

(noun) a false or unsupportable quality. Synonyms: pretension, pretence.

(noun) an artful or simulated semblance. Synonyms: guise, pretence, pretext. Example: "Under the guise of friendship he betrayed them."