pretentious
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- prætentious (rare, pedantic or (esp. self-referentially) humorous)
EtymologyEdit
From 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.
PronunciationEdit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /pɹɪˈtɛnʃəs/[1]
AdjectiveEdit
pretentious (comparative more pretentious, superlative most pretentious)
- Intended to impress others; ostentatious.
- Her dress was obviously more pretentious than comfortable.
- Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.
- Their song titles are pretentious in the context of their basic lyrics.
SynonymsEdit
- poseur
- See also Thesaurus:arrogant
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction
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intended to impress others
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ReferencesEdit
- ^ The Concise Oxford English Dictionary [Eleventh Edition]
- pretentious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- pretentious in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- pretentious at OneLook Dictionary Search