pretension

English

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pretension^¹

Where it comes from

From Middle English pretencioun, pretensioun, from Medieval Latin prētēnsiō.

noun pretensions · prætension

countable, uncountable A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality. As a foreign stamp gazette it is nowhere. An article on Stamp Collecting, by J. E. Gray, “reprinted from one of his books,” and a catalogue of stamps constitute its sole attraction. We are surprised to find such sounding pretentions so poorly supported.
countable, uncountable Pretentiousness.

pretension^²

verb pretensions · pretensioning · pretensioned

To apply tension to an object before some other event or process.
To apply tension to reinforcing strands before concrete is poured in.

Translations

Every language

noun claim

Español	pretensión
Português	pretensão
Français	prétention
Română	pretenție
Русский	претензия pretenzija, притязание pritjazanije

noun pretentiousness

Español	pretención
Français	prétention
Română	pretențiozitate

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MLA

"pretension." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pretension. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pretension. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pretension

Chicago

"pretension." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pretension.

BibTeX

@misc{pretension_2026,
  title = {pretension},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pretension},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}