pretentious
English
editAlternative forms
edit- prætentious (rare, pedantic or (esp. self-referentially) humorous)
Etymology
editFrom French prétentieux, from prétention, from Latin praetēnsus (“false or hypocritical profession”), past participle of praetendō.
Note that pretentious is spelled with a ‘t’, unlike related pretense, pretension. This is due to the French spelling: *-sious does not occur as an English suffix, though -sion and -tion both do.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /pɹɪ.ˈ tɛn.t͡ʃəs/
- enPR: prĭ-tĕnˈ -chəs
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
editpretentious (comparative more pretentious, superlative most pretentious)
- Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others.
- Her dress was obviously more pretentious than comfortable.
- 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, pages 703-704:
- I recall the height of comfort attained by the green-cushioned "first" with starched white antimacassars and a pretentious grey floor mat on which it seemed a sacrilege to stand, as it was embellished with the North Western conception of Britannia, complete with trident.
- Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.
- Their song titles are pretentious in the context of their basic lyrics.
- 2023 January 11, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: castles and cathedrals”, in RAIL, number 974, page 56:
- The station (1840) was originally Cheltenham but the more grandiose Cheltenham Spa since 1925, which feels a bit pretentious as the town has never allowed itself to assume such airs and graces.
Synonyms
edit- poseur
- See also Thesaurus:arrogant
Antonyms
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editmarked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction
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intended to impress others
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References
edit- “pretentious”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “pretentious”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “pretentious”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
editCategories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *tend- (stretch)
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Personality