- making claim to distinction or importance, esp undeservedly
- having or creating a deceptive outer appearance of great worth; ostentatious
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pre•ten•tious /prɪˈtɛnʃəs/USA pronunciation
adj.
pre•ten•tious•ness, n. [uncountable]See -tend-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- full of pretension;
giving a show of importance, etc., that one does not really have. - making an exaggerated outward show;
showy.
pre•ten•tious•ness, n. [uncountable]See -tend-.
pre•ten•tious
(pri ten′shəs),USA pronunciation adj.
pre•ten′tious•ly, adv.
pre•ten′tious•ness, n.
- full of pretense or pretension.
- characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.
- making an exaggerated outward show;
ostentatious.
- earlier pretensious. See pretense, -ious 1835–45
pre•ten′tious•ness, n.
- 2. pompous. See bombastic. 3. showy. See grandiose.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pretentious /prɪˈtɛnʃəs/ adj
'pretentious' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
bullshit
- bung
- claptrap
- dignify
- display
- flatulent
- frill
- fustian
- gobbledegook
- grandeur
- high-flown
- highfalutin
- jargon
- kitsch
- modest
- ostentation
- ostentatious
- phoney
- pretension
- pseud
- show
- toffee-nosed
- toplofty
- twaddle
- whippersnapper
- academese
- artificial
- arty
- big
- bombast
- bombastic
- bravado
- chichi
- come
- coxcomb
- culture vulture
- debunk
- doggy
- federalese
- flash
- flubdub
- fourflusher
- fuss and feathers
- gentility
- gibberish
- grandiloquent
- grandiose
- gusty
- high-sounding
- hoity-toity