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.

Some of X’s pretentiousness — she is given to statements like “To be rebellious and to distrust rebellion is the plight of the tragic artist” — bleeds over into the book itself.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2023

My tastes broadened a bit in college, with a whiff of pretentiousness: Sam Cooke, Duke Ellington, Tom Waits, Benny Goodman, Jacques Brel and a jazz fusion band called Weather Report.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2022

In her landmark essay "Notes on 'Camp,'" Susan Sontag defines the aesthetic as such: "artifice, frivolity, naïve middle-class pretentiousness and shocking excess."

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2022

There seems to be a really great sense of humor and lack of pretentiousness in Chicago and Illinois.

From Washington Post • May 26, 2022

A sarcastic saying on pretentiousness is seen in, "Great doings at Gregory's; heated the oven twice for a custard."

From Proverb Lore Many sayings, wise or otherwise, on many subjects, gleaned from many sources by Hulme, F. Edward (Frederick Edward)