pretentious
adjective
characterized by assumption of dignity or importance, especially when exaggerated or undeserved.
pretentiously
-
a word derived from
pretentious.
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.
Amandaland follows middle class Amanda and her two children as they adapt to life in South Harlesden - which she refers to, pretentiously, as "SoHa" - having been forced to leave Chiswick following her divorce.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
Kulendran Thomas’s big idea is to rebut the precious, humanist, nation-state-upholding concepts of creativity and individuality by making the most pretentiously mindless art possible.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2022
The same young boys, awkwardly trekking through puberty, who would pretentiously judge the appearance of young girls, also awkwardly trekking through puberty.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2021
Eilish is not pretentiously trying to frame the first 19 years of her life as a story that would enlighten and inform her public.
From Slate ● May 15, 2021
Many an insignificant shop-keeper had been known to exchange his musty rooms for a villa in the suburbs, to furnish it pretentiously, and to send his sons on trips abroad.
From The Goose Man by Allen Wilson Porterfield
