Expressions Of Directness

noun a word used to identify a person, place, thing, or idea, such as pretense

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, such as abandon or drop

preposition a word used to show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence, such as at

article a word used to indicate whether a noun is specific or unspecific, such as all

• The CEO decided to abandon all pretense at diplomacy and speak candidly about the company's financial struggles.
• She finally dropped all pretense at being interested in the meeting and started doodling on her notepad.
• He just said, 'Screw it!' and abandoned all pretense at caring about what others thought.
• When faced with the undeniable evidence, she had no choice but to drop all pretense at innocence and confess to the crime.