Pretentious — Pre*ten tious, a. [Cf. F. pr[ e]tentieux. See {Pretend}.] Full of pretension; disposed to lay claim to more than is one s; presuming; assuming. {Pre*ten tious*ly}, adv. {Pre*ten tious*ness}, n. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pretentious — I (ostentatious) adjective adorned, artificial, bespangled, brassy, conspicuous, decorated, embellished, flamboyant, flashy, fulgent, fulgid, garish, gaudy, iactans, meretricious, ornamented, ornate, ornatus, overly decorated, showy, superficial … Law dictionary
pretentious — (adj.) 1845, from Fr. prétentieux (17c.), from prétention pretension, from M.L. pretentionem (nom. pretentio) pretension, from L.L. prætensus pretend (see PRETENSE (Cf. pretense)) … Etymology dictionary
pretentious — 1 *showy, ostentatious Analogous words: *gaudy, garish, flashy: *ornate, flamboyant, florid, baroque, rococo Antonyms: unpretentious 2 *ambitious, Utopian Analogous words: aiming, aspiring, panting (see … New Dictionary of Synonyms
pretentious — [adj] snobbish, conceited affected, arty, assuming, aureate, big*, bombastic, chichi*, conspicuous, euphuistic, exaggerated, extravagant, feigned, flamboyant, flashy, flaunting, flowery, gaudy, grandiloquent, grandiose, highfaluting*, high flown* … New thesaurus
pretentious — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed. DERIVATIVES pretentiously adverb pretentiousness noun … English terms dictionary
pretentious — [prē ten′shəs, priten′shəs] adj. [Fr prétentieux < prétention, pretension + eux, OUS] 1. making claims, explicit or implicit, to some distinction, importance, dignity, or excellence 2. affectedly grand; ostentatious pretentiously adv.… … English World dictionary
pretentious — adjective Etymology: French prétentieux, from prétention pretension, from Medieval Latin pretention , pretentio, from Latin praetendere Date: 1832 1. characterized by pretension: as a. making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value… … New Collegiate Dictionary
pretentious — pre|ten|tious [ prı tenʃəs ] adjective behaving in a way that is intended to impress other people but seems false or too deliberate: It s so pretentious of her to greet everyone in French. a. used about someone s behavior or attitude: a… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
pretentious — UK [prɪˈtenʃəs] / US adjective showing disapproval behaving in a way that is intended to impress other people but seems false or too deliberate It s so pretentious of her to greet everyone in French. a) used about someone s behaviour or attitude… … English dictionary