pretentiously
1
7.6
- adverb
- /prɪˈtɛnʃəsli/
- Offensive
:
pretenciosamente
- It, it, it seems to, well, it seems to evoke something excitingly and pretentiously foreign.
- pretentiously called
Examples
-
Call me pretentiously literary, if you will, but here goes.
Blog text (17) -
Maybe they imagine they can pretentiously out-tantrum everyone else.
Blog text (28) -
I honestly don't understand why guys feel the need to be so pretentiously dramatic about a "breaking things off" kind of deal, especially when it's not that serious.
Blog text (21) -
Then perhaps you'll also know that each year my organization bestows the somewhat pretentiously named Literary Award.
-
What was so amusing about young men behaving pretentiously, showing off their recently acquired knowledge and wanting everyone to admire their wit?
Fiction book (2000) -
Indeed, though the movement called itself (rather pretentiously) "the people's church," when the chance for democracy made itself available in virtually every Latin American nation, very few candidates ran under the banner of liberation theology.
Academic text (2014) -
Surely you can't mean that passive-aggressive, condescending hypocrite who so pretentiously calls himself the Inquirer?
Blog text (29) -
Whatever merits individual artists here and there may exhibit, most of the established art of our time is pretentiously banal when it is not downright pathological.
Academic text (1997) -
The professor spoke pretentiously, using complex terminology to impress his students.
-
She dressed pretentiously for the gala, choosing an extravagant outfit to draw attention.
Synonyms
8
4.8
In a way that shows someone thinks they are better than other people
8
6.0
In a proud way that shows you think you are better than others
3
7.9
To act in a way that attracts attention and impresses people
2
6.6
Behave in a proud, unfriendly way to show you feel better than others
1
7.7
In a proud, showy way to seem more important than others
1
6.3
In a way that makes things seem much bigger or more important than they really are
1
8.5
In a showy, exaggerated way to impress people
1
7.7
In a way that shows someone thinks they are better than other people
In a showy, proud way using big, fancy words
In a self-important, bossy way as if always right
In a proud, showy way to get attention
In a way that shows too much pride in what you have done or how you look
To act in a very proud way that ignores other people
Behaving as if you are better than other people
Antonyms
How Pretentious
Surface Forms
Morphology
pretentiously = pretentious (transparent) = pretension + ous + ly
Formed regularly by adding -ly to the adjective 'pretentious', which itself is a standard derivation from 'pretension'; the adverbial meaning is directly predictable.
Etymology
Pretentiously comes from pretend, which means 'to make something seem true or important when it is not'. Think of it as 'stretching' your importance to impress others, so to act pretentiously is to behave in a way that tries to seem more important or clever than you really are.