pretentious implies an appearance of importance not justified by the thing's value or the person's standing.
Pretentious people try to make a good impression on others by acting as though they are more special, important, skilled, or intelligent than they really are. If other people have described you as pretentious, a “snob,” or “fake,” this guide is for you.
If you say that someone or something is pretentious, you mean that they try to seem important or significant, but you do not think that they are. [disapproval] His response was full of pretentious nonsense. Synonyms: affected, mannered, exaggerated, pompous More Synonyms of pretentious.
A middle-class person who buys the same expensive new car is pretentious. A pretentious person is pretending to have or be something or someone he or she is not. An ostentatious person is flaunting who he or she is and/or what they have.
/prɪˈtɛnʃɪs/ Use the adjective pretentious as a way to criticize people who try to act like they are more important or knowledgeable than they really are.
Being pretentious is a bad idea for several reasons: it alienates people, it suggests you're smarter than perhaps you actually are, and it invites unfriendly scrutiny.
The adjective unpretentious is perfect for describing someone you know who's modest and natural and never tries to impress other people. Pretentious comes from the Latin word meaning "pretend," prætensus, so when you're unpretentious, you see no reason to pretend.
Pretentiousness can develop from a genuine belief that one is better than someone else, or a sense of insecurity. Pretentiousness may persist because pretentious people take satisfaction in pulling genuine-minded people into their pattern.
Words. Using unnecessarily large words when simpler, more common words would do. Language. Unnecessarily stilted, formal language.
They don't mean the same thing at all—they just have the same Latin root (praetendere). “Pretentious” essentially means “arrogant,” and “pretend” means “imagine” or falsely represent something as being true.
A pretentious person, by contrast, is all about themselves and trying to pretend to be something they're not. Even when they are something, such as a lawyer, handsome or rich, they make such a show of it that they end up looking worse than many people who are technically below them in social station.
POMPOUS. As you'd expect, this synonym for 'pretentious' is from the word pomp, meaning a splendid display (from the French, ultimately from Latin). If you're pompous, you're full of exaggerated self-importance.
A pretentious person is pretending (same etymology) to be something or someone he or she is not. An ostentatious person, on the other hand, delights in flaunting who he or she is and/or what they have.
Pretentious means 'attempt to impress' the opposite being humble meaning 'respectful'.
pretentious or showy or vulgar display. type of: unnaturalness. the quality of being unnatural or not based on natural principles. lack of elegance as a consequence of being pompous and puffed up with vanity. synonyms: inflation, ostentation, ostentatiousness, pomposity, pompousness, puffiness, splashiness.
adjective. characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others: an ostentatious dresser. (of actions, manner, qualities exhibited, etc.) intended to attract notice: Lady Bountiful's ostentatious charity.
One of the most common words to describe someone who thinks they are better than someone else is arrogant. Another very common word to describe such a person is proud. I can't stand how arrogant he is! Don't be too proud to admit you're wrong. The opposite of arrogant is humble.
without interest or concern; not caring; apathetic: his indifferent attitude toward the suffering of others. having no bias, prejudice, or preference; impartial; disinterested.
You can end up using “pretentious” words because they were literary mother's milk to you. The best ways I know for avoiding this: Simple, clear language and careful use of more complicated words (only use them because they are most precise, not because they sound impressive) will help.
Recent studies have suggested that the word might also have a social function, acting as a cue to seem informal and friendly, another reason why it's so prevalent among young girls. Over the years, the way we use like has been used as a prime example of how younger generations are destroying the English language.