pretension

¹ American  

[pri-ten-shuhn] / prɪˈtɛn ʃən /

noun

1. the laying of a claim to something.

   Synonyms:

   profession, assertion

2. a claim or title to something.

3. 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.

4. a claim to dignity, importance, or merit.

5. pretentiousness.

   Synonyms:

   pretense, airs, affectation

6. the act of pretending or alleging.

7. an allegation of doubtful veracity.

8. a pretext.

   Synonyms:

   excuse

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pretension ² American  

[pree-ten-shuhn] / priˈtɛn ʃən /

verb (used with object)

1. (in prestressed-concrete construction) to apply tension to (reinforcing strands) before the concrete is poured; prestress.

2. to make (a concrete member) with pretensioned reinforcement.

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pretension British  

/ prɪˈtɛnʃən /

noun

1. (often plural) a false or unsupportable claim, esp to merit, worth, or importance

2. a specious or unfounded allegation; pretext

3. the state or quality of being pretentious

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Etymology

Origin of pretension¹

First recorded in 1400–50; from Medieval Latin praetēnsiōn- (stem of praetēnsiō ); pretense, -ion

Origin of pretension²

First recorded in 1935–40; pre- + tension

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.

Example Sentences

The movie became a reference by which the absurdities of real-life rock ’n’ roll pretension would forever be measured.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

In person, Pierce is gently disarming, with none of the intellectual pretension of Niles Crane.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2023

There was a baby-knit culotte and matching polo with Gucci stripe detailing, worn without pretension.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

But embedded in such restrictions one may infer either a resistance to having his work pushed to the fringes, or a pretension in contextualizing it as a mainstream experience.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 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

Related Words

• conceit
• hypocrisy
• pomposity
• snobbery