pretentious
adjective
characterized by assumption of dignity or importance, especially when exaggerated or undeserved.
pretentiousness
-
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.
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
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
The class had been watching French New Wave films and Braden decided to parody their pretentiousness.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 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
Mr. Tressall has avoided altogether the pretentiousness and literary affectation that betrayed, for example, Mr. H. G. Wells' bathchairman, Meeks.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, May 6, 1914 by Sir Owen Seaman
