Display
Display noun - An outward and often exaggerated indication of something abstract (as a feeling) for effect.
Usage example: a display of sympathy that was totally phony
Pretense and display are semantically related In some cases you can use "Pretense" instead a noun "Display".
Nearby Words: displayed, displaying
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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There's also a scene in which Holliday uses celebratory champagne as the pretense for a display of power: when first meeting Wyatt, he orders "A glass of champagne for the marshal." Wyatt asks for whiskey instead, but Holliday insists on champagne, and the barman complies.
Source: Film / My Darling Clementine -
He keeps up the pretense when inviting her to "see sumthin' funny," which happens to be a private display of his ability to pacify and slowly kill a hapless victim of his choosing, by eating him alive.
Source: Faux Affably Evil
Cite this Source
Pretense and Display. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/display/pretense
Display & Pretense. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/display/pretense>.
Pretense or Display. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/display/pretense.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "display" and "pretense" have occurred on timeline