1
as in arrogant
self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance
that pretentious couple always serves caviar at their parties, even though they themselves dislike it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in superior
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
a pretentious author whose books only appeal to equally pretentious readers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretentious
And a slightly surreal, fantastical closing scene is puzzling and pretentious rather than provocative.
—
Stephen Farber, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
Folks in foodie online circles can be pretentious about American-Chinese food.
—Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 May 2025
González is a fountain of knowledge but also a great educator, explaining things in detail without being pretentious or condescending.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
To take her mind off him, Agathe meets an Austen-like family of eccentrics running the retreat and the sometimes pretentious writers attending it.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretentious
Stephen Farber, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
Folks in foodie online circles can be pretentious about American-Chinese food.
—Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 May 2025
González is a fountain of knowledge but also a great educator, explaining things in detail without being pretentious or condescending.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
To take her mind off him, Agathe meets an Austen-like family of eccentrics running the retreat and the sometimes pretentious writers attending it.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretentious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretentious
Adjective
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In addition to Sandler, the 2025 film also sees the return of several familiar faces, including Julie Bowen as Happy’s love interest, Virginia Venit; Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, Happy’s arrogant nemesis; and Ben Stiller as Hal L., the orderly from Happy’s grandmother’s nursing home.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
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Christopher McDonald plays Happy’s comically villainous, arrogant rival Shooter McGavin, maestro of the finger guns.—
Skyler Trepel,
EW.com,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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Louis Partridge will take on Mr Darcy’s nemesis, Mr Wickham with Jamie Demetriou turning his hand to the pompous Mr Collins and Fiona Shaw as the fearsome Lady Catherine de Bourg.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
29 July 2025
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Warner also had a memorable guest arc as Eric Sanders, pompous boyfriend of Karyn Parsons' Hilary Banks, on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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Kenyans are worse off than before, with many blaming Ruto for his failure to improve the economic conditions, his decisions to increase taxes, and his ostentatious display of wealth from fancy watches to Louboutin shoes.—
Troy Onyango,
Time,
24 July 2025
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In all hierarchical societies, formal, ostentatious patterns of financial acquisition, contribution, and consumption demonstrate proper taste.—
Matthew Carey Salyer,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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This isn’t an instance of crony capitalism, but a tale about well-meaning administrations, of both parties, pursuing grandiose ambitions without the vision, competence, or funding to realize them.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
28 July 2025
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The opposition eventually halted the grandiose project after one long runway was built.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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There are no stats or high-minded analysis needed to describe the woes.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
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Traversing between the high-minded and the gutter is crucial to Sharp’s project.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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But that policy can also backfire – in part because many regions, such as Marathi-speaking Maharashtra in the west – are staunchly proud of their local language.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
26 July 2025
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Bobby Lee is proud of Borderlands, but his experience at the movie's premiere wasn't entirely pleasant.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
26 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretentious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretentious. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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