5
simulation(noun, cover, show, cause, reason)
5
stalking-horse
4
artifice(noun, trick, shift, escape, routine)
4
blind(cover, trick, air, disguise, veil)
4
bluff(noun, cover, cause, fake, reason)
4
claim(noun, action, trick, sham, statement)
4
dodge(noun, trick, escape, excuse, maneuver)
4
feigning(trick, sham, con, falsehood, cloak)
4
pretend(trick, deception, fraud, pretense, hoax)
4
red herring(noun, expression, cause, reason, con)
3
apologia(noun, cause, reason, approval, argument)
3
camouflage(noun, cover, hide, disguise, cloak)
3
cover story(noun, expression, cause, reason, trick)
3
façade(noun, cover, show, trick, face)
3
false show(expression, idiom, appearance, show, face)
3
fraud(noun, trick, deception, pretense, hoax)
3
imposture(noun, trick, deception, fraud, pretense)
3
loophole
3
ostentation(noun, trick, effect, face, sham)
3
ploy(noun, cause, reason, trick, con)
11 years ago|8.8k views|share |citing 
APASmart Define. (2015). pretext thesaurus. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/pretext/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2015. "pretext thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/pretext/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2015, pretext thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/pretext/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "pretext thesaurus" 10 April 2015. Web. 20 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/pretext/thesaurus/synonyms>