pretentious
Contents
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
|
|
intended to impress others
|
ReferencesEdit
- ^ The Concise Oxford English Dictionary [Eleventh Edition]
- pretentious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- pretentious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- pretentious at OneLook Dictionary Search