pretension
1 Americannoun
-
the laying of a claim to something.
- Synonyms:
- profession, assertion
-
a claim or title to something.
-
Often pretensions a claim made, especially indirectly or by implication, to some quality, merit, or the like.
They laughed at my pretensions to superior judgment.
-
a claim to dignity, importance, or merit.
-
pretentiousness.
- Synonyms:
- pretense, airs, affectation
-
the act of pretending or alleging.
-
an allegation of doubtful veracity.
-
a pretext.
- Synonyms:
- excuse
verb (used with object)
-
(in prestressed-concrete construction) to apply tension to (reinforcing strands) before the concrete is poured; prestress.
-
to make (a concrete member) with pretensioned reinforcement.
noun
-
(often plural) a false or unsupportable claim, esp to merit, worth, or importance
-
a specious or unfounded allegation; pretext
-
the state or quality of being pretentious
Etymology
Origin of pretension1
First recorded in 1400–50; from Medieval Latin praetēnsiōn- (stem of praetēnsiō ); see pretense, -ion
Origin of pretension2
Explanation
Pretension is what you're guilty of when you boorishly try to impress other people with how important or clever you are. When you speak with pretension, you're boastful and you puff yourself up as someone very important or of great worth. If you have literary pretensions, you most likely think you're a great writer, but you most likely are not. As you might imagine, this word has the same Latin roots as pretend and pretense. A pretension can also be the advancing of a claim.
Vocabulary lists containing pretension
Common Sense
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Pygmalion
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The 57 Bus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In some ways the films seem to invite accusations of pretension, of reach exceeding grasp and grandeur stretched into grandiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
Any pretension exhibited was earned with the grace of a batted eyelash and a knowing smirk.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2025
There was a baby-knit culotte and matching polo with Gucci stripe detailing, worn without pretension.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023
The miniseries retains the series’ basic-cable lack of pretension, its humor, its promotion of conversation over action.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2023
No one tried harder than Satie to puncture the pretension of Bayreuth, even if his rejection of the Wagner legacy may have been at times rather puerile.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
