pretentious
74
7.3
- adjective
- /prɪˈtɛnʃəs/
- Offensive
:
pretencioso
- The art exhibit felt pretentious to many visitors, showcasing extravagant displays instead of genuine talent.
- most pretentious
It's a horrendous name, pretentious, but that's what it is.
- It's a horrendous name, pretentious, but that's what it is.
- I have read because I am pretentious AF.
- Oh, yeah, this pretentious piece of shit.
- Let's stick with resentment so we don't sound too pretentious.
- Like the writing to me came off a little bit pretentious.
- You know, other people might find it pretentious, but I thought it was interesting.
- A lot of them are really fucking pretentious.
- This is a very this is a very ricochet, to use another sort of pretentious French word phrase.
- There was nothing pretentious about Sano Traviconte that screamed, I'm a mob boss.
Examples
-
You know, and they know, that the essay is a piece of shallow, pretentious nonsense.
Fiction book (1993) -
I never want to say anything bad about him, but he is very pretentious.
-
You know, other people might find it pretentious, but I thought it was interesting.
-
A little pretentious for my taste.
-
I know this sounds pretentious as hell, but I like to think of us as artists.
Fiction book (1997) -
Everything is time based, which is actually both like pretentious and also really cool and logical.
-
I don't know, it just feels a bit pretentious to me.
-
One of the things I find very interesting about you, my guy, is you work in an industry that is very pretentious, but you're not.
-
I really hated Salinger because I found him so pretentious and affected.
-
Interestingly, a lot of legalese has nothing to do with the law but is simply pretentious and difficult to follow.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
260
4.5
Behaving as if you are more important or better than other people
227
8.9
Someone who thinks they are much better than others
57
5.8
Acting more important and formal than necessary
24
5.4
Thinking you are much better than other people
24
6.6
Seeing yourself as much more important than other people
16
7.4
Acting as if you are better than other people
13
5.8
Acting as if you are better than other people
11
7.7
To show off very expensive things to attract attention
8
3.2
Bright or fancy in a way that draws attention
4
8.6
Claiming to be more important or successful than you are
4
6.8
Thinking you are much better or more important than others
4
9.3
Behaving or speaking in a fancy way to seem more important
2
9.8
Too much pride and confidence that makes people dislike you
1
7.2
Thinking you are more important than other people
1
8.2
Seeming important or impressive but lacking real meaning and honesty
1
9.9
Too confident and rude in a way that annoys other people
1
9.9
Very fancy in a way that shows you think you are better than others
Showing off and acting more important than others
Acting very formal and proud to seem better than others
Acting very fancy to show you are better than others
Thinking you are better than other people
Antonyms
How Pretentious
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Pretentious is related to pretend and comes from old parts pre- 'before' and tend 'stretch', as in tension. Think of it as 'stretching' your importance in front of others, so a pretentious person tries to seem more important or cultured than they really are.