noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
find
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It was impossible to find any pretext for remaining in her company.
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Within moments, Alison had found a pretext to excuse herself.
give
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Opposition leaders are afraid to give Milosevic the pretext to use more brutality and proclaim martial law or something along those lines.
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Even one counterexample would give us a pretext to bring the rogue in for questioning.
provide
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Armed clashes between farmers and squatters that led to deaths could provide the pretext .
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The incident also appeared to provide a pretext for the government to institute harsher measures against the student demonstrators.
use
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However, this can not be used as a pretext to justify inertia.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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He used to spend hours at her house on the pretext of giving her Japanese lessons.
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His sore leg was a pretext . He just wanted a day off work.
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Minor offences were sometimes used as a pretext for an arrest.
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She couldn't find a pretext to visit Derek at home.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Every adverse employment decision is a pretext for litigation.
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He can't recall the man's story but clearly it was a pretext for his accomplice to search the house.
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He could of course simply walk out on some pretext - visiting a friend.
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I lingered, on the pretext of finishing half a glass of champagne.
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One pretext disposed of, McClellan found another.
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People were moving more slowly and nonchalantly, without the pretext of a destination or purpose.
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The boy was simply a beggar: his bundle of newspapers was a pretext , and we called him the Newspaper Boy.
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What bothers us more is the seeming predisposition of the federal courts to strike down term-limit laws on just about any pretext .