noun
pretension
prih-TEN-shun/prɪˈtenʃn/
An exaggerated or unjustified claim to importance or ability.
The homemade crown makes his pretension to grandeur look absurd.
Etymology
“Stretch in front” led to “put forward” a claim. Pretension came to describe an unproven claim, particularly one asserting merit, dignity, or importance.
In context
my biggest literary turnoff, is is pretension. It's it's people who who, for example, claim they're not writing crime. They're, they're writing a literary novel with crime in it.
More examples
- His pretension to expertise collapsed under a few questions.
- She mocked the restaurant's artistic pretensions.
- The grand title supported his pretension to importance.
Forms
pretension · pretensions
Similar words
- claim
- A claim may be justified; pretension often suggests an inflated claim to merit or status.
- affectation
- An affectation is an assumed manner; a pretension is the claim that such behavior may support.