adjective
pretentious
prih-TEN-shuhs/prɪˈtenʃəs/
Trying to seem more important, cultured, or impressive than is justified.
His pretentious display includes an art book held upside down.
Etymology
“Stretch in front” developed into “put forward,” especially a claim. Pretentious describes putting forward claims to excellence or importance that exceed what someone actually merits.
In context
purple prose is considered overly pretentious and verbose in order to make the writer look as important as possible
More examples
- The speech sounded pretentious.
- She disliked the pretentious decor.
- The claim seemed pretentious.
Forms
pretentious
pretension noun — an inflated claim of importance
Similar words
- affected
- Adopts an artificial manner.
- ostentatious
- Showily displays something, not necessarily false sophistication.