SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
pretension
noun
An attempt or claim to seem more important, skilled, or impressive than warranted.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Unwarranted display of importance
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topPretension can mean either an unwarranted claim or the effort to seem impressive. Ostentation emphasizes conspicuous display, often of wealth or status.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See pretension in use
The restaurant's elaborate descriptions struck her as empty pretension.
The actor playing the collector adopted a pompous manner, turning a simple welcome into a long ceremony about the honor of entering his home. His pretension to artistic expertise became clear when he praised a painting without recognizing that it hung upside down.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license