pretension

¹ American  

[pri-ten-shuhn] / prɪˈtɛn ʃən /

noun

• pretensions
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pretensions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pretension¹

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

See Examples For:

pretension pretensions

But what I witnessed recently at the end of the trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday” made me glad I didn’t shut my eyes to protect my precious pretension.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

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

We have responded to this distant Austrian’s voice across the years and the continents so spontaneously because his music seems simply to flow out of him, intuitively, without cynicism or intellectual pretension.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Edmund is said to be brilliant but we mostly get evidence of his pretensions and “annoying air of lazy authority.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

In short, it was perfect for an adolescent boy of burgeoning but unformed pretensions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

Reflecting on the press, he later noted, "The press has pretensions of being a crusader but is more often a preserver of the status quo."

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025

Nauman’s, however, is refreshingly without illusions or pretensions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2025

And perhaps it was not evil I saw but merely the way of all hearts when fear has stripped off the husk of kind pretensions.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• conceit
• hypocrisy
• pomposity
• snobbery