pretense

masquerade

Deceptive act or costume party

• shamFraudulent imitation
• mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
• farceAbsurd, laughable situation

travesty · parody · make-believe · act · game · pantomime · show · fake · phony · going through the motions

hoax

Deliberate deception for effect

• fraudIntentional criminal trickery
• duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
• deceitDeliberate misleading of others

subterfuge · swindle · con · trickery · scam · imposture · forgery · counterfeit · fabrication · bamboozle

veneer

Decorative outer layer

• frontForward-facing side
• maskFace-worn concealment
• appearanceOutward visible form

show · disguise · smokescreen · semblance · exterior · display · window-dressing · superficiality · surface · outward

insincerity

Lack of genuine feeling

• sanctimonyFeigned moral superiority
• two-facednessDeceitful pretense of friendship
• dissemblingConcealing true motives

cant · lip service · tokenism · double standards · crocodile tears · holier-than-thou · disingenuousness · falseness

snobbery

Pretentious social superiority

• haughtinessDisdainful sense of superiority
• conceitExaggerated self-admiration
• vanityExcessive pride in oneself

ostentation · pomposity · superciliousness · swagger · grandiosity · showiness · self-importance · pretentiousness · airs · posturing

excuse

Offered reason for wrongdoing

• justificationReason proving rightness
• groundsBasis for justification
• cover storyFalse explanation for actions

alibi · false claim · assertion

• dirty trickscheating, lying, deceit, trickery, deception
• hidden motivesulterior motive, hidden agenda, secret plan, scheming, plotting
• hypocrisyhypocrisy, hypocrite, sanctimony, two-faced, self-righteousness
• self-deceptiondenial, delusion, wishful thinking, rationalization, willful blindness
• superficialityshallowness, superficiality, hollowness, emptiness, skin deep
• unnaturalnessartificiality, affectation, contrivance, falseness, fabrication