The difference between Act and Pretense
When used as nouns, act means something done, a deed, whereas pretense means a false or hypocritical profession.
Act is also verb with the meaning: to do something.
check bellow for the other definitions of Act and Pretense
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Act as a noun (countable):
Something done, a deed.
Examples:
"an act of goodwill"
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Act as a noun (obsolete, uncountable):
Actuality.
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Act as a noun (theology):
Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.
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Act as a noun (countable):
A product of a legislative body, a statute.
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Act as a noun:
The process of doing something.
Examples:
"He was caught in the act of stealing."
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Act as a noun (countable):
A formal or official record of something done.
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Act as a noun (countable):
A division of a theatrical performance.
Examples:
"The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act."
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Act as a noun (countable):
A performer or performers in a show.
Examples:
"Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?"
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Act as a noun (countable):
Any organized activity.
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Act as a noun (countable):
A display of behaviour.
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Act as a noun:
A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.
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Act as a noun (countable):
A display of behaviour meant to deceive.
Examples:
"to put on an act"
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Act as a verb (intransitive):
To do something.
Examples:
"If you don't act soon, you will be in trouble."
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Act as a verb (obsolete, transitive):
To do (something); to perform.
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Act as a verb (intransitive):
To perform a theatrical role.
Examples:
"I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre."
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Act as a verb (ergative):
Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
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Act as a verb (intransitive):
To behave in a certain way.
Examples:
"He's acting strangely - I think there's something wrong with him."
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Act as a verb (copulative):
To convey an appearance of being.
Examples:
"He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn't worry."
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Act as a verb:
To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
Examples:
"act on behalf of John"
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Act as a verb (intransitive, construed with '''[[on]]''' or '''[[upon]]'''):
To have an effect (on).
Examples:
"High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death."
"Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies."
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Act as a verb (transitive):
To play (a role).
Examples:
"He's been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve."
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Act as a verb (transitive):
To feign.
Examples:
"He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused."
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Act as a verb (mathematics, intransitive, construed with '''[[on]]''' or '''[[upon]]''', of a [[group]]):
To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of).
Examples:
"This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!"
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Act as a verb (obsolete, transitive):
To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
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Pretense as a noun (US):
A false or hypocritical profession
Examples:
"under pretense of friendliness"
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Pretense as a noun:
Intention or purpose not real but professed.
Examples:
"with only a pretense of accuracy"
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Pretense as a noun:
An unsupported claim made or implied.
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Pretense as a noun:
An insincere attempt to reach a specific condition or quality.