as in pretentious
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Recent Examples of fancy-pants
The surprise of Clover Hill is not that this sort of food is on offer in an outer borough—with its concentration of zillion-dollar brownstones and fancy-pants residents, Brooklyn Heights isn’t exactly salt of the earth.
—
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
But no—not good enough for these fancy-pants mathematicians who need their own set of characters just to feel special.
—Eli Burnstein, The New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2023
With crust that's beautifully singed and wondrously puffed, the not-so-basic numbers are polished with fancy-pants ingredients—from Calabrian chile, fennel and sausage to a cacio e pepe riff made with velvety cream sauce, formaggi al pepe and pecorino.
—Brooke Viggiano, Chron, 12 Mar. 2023
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
But no—not good enough for these fancy-pants mathematicians who need their own set of characters just to feel special.
—Eli Burnstein, The New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2023
With crust that's beautifully singed and wondrously puffed, the not-so-basic numbers are polished with fancy-pants ingredients—from Calabrian chile, fennel and sausage to a cacio e pepe riff made with velvety cream sauce, formaggi al pepe and pecorino.
—Brooke Viggiano, Chron, 12 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fancy-pants
Adjective
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And a slightly surreal, fantastical closing scene is puzzling and pretentious rather than provocative.—
Stephen Farber,
HollywoodReporter,
16 June 2025
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Folks in foodie online circles can be pretentious about American-Chinese food.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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The message continued in this grandiose and affirming vein, doing nothing to shake Taylor loose from the grip of his delusion.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 June 2025
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From interviews with survivors, the authors determined that grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic partners both used strategies aimed at decentering their victims’ sense of self and keeping them emotionally bound.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
8 May 2025
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Signaling a stark departure from tradition that, over the centuries, had ranged from formal to pompous, Pope Francis began teaching us, from day one, what the most genuine leadership looks like. Humble.—
Eli Amdur,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Business leaders relying on inaccurate and inflated carbon calculations may over purchase carbon offsets and be unsure where net zero actually is, and even less sure about how to get there.—
Sophia Mendelsohn,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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Against this backdrop of inflated expectations and deflating results, a more nuanced understanding has emerged from those like LeCun, who've spent decades wrestling with the actual mechanics of intelligent systems.—
Gabriel Snyder,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Dogwoods provide additional interest throughout the year with red fall fruits and striking burgundy red to purple autumn foliage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
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Throughout the day, baskets of white and purple flowers were brought in to decorate the venue, along with a piano, People reported.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Princess Eugenie’s dress included ornate cutouts, particularly on the skirt, which featured feminine motifs like flowers and bows intricately designed with symmetry on the linen fabric.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
26 June 2025
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Coffered wood ceilings, intricate crown moldings, detailed light fixtures, and ornate ceiling details can be seen in nearly every room of the house.—
Emma Reynolds,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The issue lies in cultural inertia, poor leadership choices, and a lack of visionary strategy, which have transformed Intel from a bellwether into a bloated, reactive giant.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
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The pneumatic hoses kept taking on seawater; the skin was made of neoprene foam, which soaked up water and became bloated; and one of the models kept getting tangled up in seaweed.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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She’s stilted and awkward and doesn’t really banter.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
19 July 2024
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The stilted writing and direction, sadly, leave a lot to be desired: Emotions are under-explored and the humor misfires, with a perfectly capable cast asked to deliver some truly clunky lines.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fancy-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy-pants. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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