• Pretentious

    Pronunciation

    • RP IPA: /pɹɪˈtÉ›nʃəs/
    The Concise Oxford English Dictionary Edition

    Alternative forms

    Origin

    From French prétentieux, from prétention, from Latin praetensus ("false or hypocritical profession"), past participle of praetendō.

    Note that pretentious is spelled with a ‘t’ (-tious), 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.

    Full definition of pretentious

    Adjective

    pretentious

    1. Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.Their song titles are pretentious in the context of their basic lyrics.
    2. Ostentatious; intended to impress others.Her dress was obviously more pretentious than comfortable.

    Synonyms

    © Wiktionary