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Home  »  Roget’s International Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases  »  617. [Ostensible Motive, Ground, or Reason.] Plea.

Mawson, C.O.S., ed. (1870–1938). Roget’s International Thesaurus. 1922.

Class V. Words Releasing to the Voluntary Powers
Division (I) Individual Volition
Section I. Volition in General
2. Causes of Volition

617. [Ostensible Motive, Ground, or Reason.] Plea.

   NOUN:PLEA, pretext; allegation, advocation [archaic]; ostensible -motive, – ground, – reason; excuse (vindication) [See Vindication]; color; gloss, guise.
  handle, peg to hang on; room, locus standi [L.]; stalking-horse, cheval de bataille [F.], cue.
  LOOPHOLE, starting-hole [obs.]; hole to creep out of, come-off [colloq.], way of escape.
  PRETENSE (untruth) [See Untruth]; put-off, subterfuge, dust thrown in the eye; blind; moonshine; mere -, shallow- pretext; lame -excuse, – apology; tub to a whale; false plea, sour grapes; makeshift, shift, white lie; special pleading (sophistry) [See Intuition. Sophistry]; soft sawder [slang] (flattery) [See Flattery].
   VERB:PLEAD, allege; shelter oneself under the plea of; creep out of; tell a white lie; excuse (vindicate) [See Vindication]; color, gloss over, lend a color to; furnish a handle &c. n.; make a pretext of, make a handle of; use as a plea &c. n.; take one’s stand upon, make capital out of; pretend (lie) [See Falsehood].
   ADJECTIVE:advocatory [rare], excusing; OSTENSIBLE (manifest) [See Manifestation]; alleged, apologetic; pretended [See Deception].
   ADVERB:OSTENSIBLY; under the plea of, under the pretense of.