pretentious
English · Thesaurus
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pretentious
- /pɹɪˈtɛn.ʃəs/
- /pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/
Rhymes with -ɛnʃəs
Where it comes from
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.
adjective more pretentious · most pretentious · prætentious
- Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others. 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.
- Marked by pretense (not necessarily false pretense); intent upon success; ambitious. ... the first definite and pretentious attempt to make the wardrobe trunk a commercial possibility ... The new trunk would be exploited direct to the traveling public, and he had the means for a pretentious start.
Similar: highfalutin, genteel, affected, effete, fey, recherché, hoity-toity, overrefined, pansified, precious, pretentious, smug, stagy, stilted, theatrical, Woosterian · Opposite: unpretentious, humble, modest, demure, formal, natural, priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, Quakerish
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: high-sounding, highfalutin, high-flown, pompous, hoity-toity, jumped-up, grandiloquent, high-flying, ostentatious, showy, flaunty, kitsch, upstart, overblown, sesquipedalian, parvenu
adjective
Similar: highfalutin, genteel, affected, effete, fey, recherché, hoity-toity, overrefined, pansified, precious, pretentious, smug, stagy, stilted, theatrical, Woosterian · Opposite: unpretentious, humble, modest, demure, formal, natural, priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, Quakerish
Translations
Every language
adj intended to impress others
| Español | pretencioso |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 炫耀的 xuànyào de |
| हिन्दी | आडंबरी āḍambrī |
| Italiano | pretenzioso |
| Русский | показно́й pokaznój |
adj marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction
| Español | pretencioso, pretensioso, comparón |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 做作 zuòzuo |
| हिन्दी | आडंबरी āḍambrī |
| Português | armante, pretensioso |
| Français | prétentieux |
| Deutsch | protzig, prätentiös |
| Italiano | pretenzioso |
| Română | pretențios |
| Русский | претенцио́зный pretencióznyj |
| Tiếng Việt | tự phụ |
| العربية | مَغْرُور maḡrūr |
Talk about this word "pretentious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pretentious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pretentious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pretentious "pretentious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pretentious.Cite this
@misc{pretentious_2026,
title = {pretentious},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pretentious},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
