FANCY-PANTS Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

fancy-pants

adjective

Definition of fancy-pants

as in pretentious

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fancy-pants To my surprise and delight, what came out of the blender was a fancy-pants chocolate mousse that could be served at any chic Brooklyn bistro. — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 June 2026 Hotel-wise, the best place to be is either Kinloch Lodge, for belt-loosening cuisine and sing-worthy service, or Flodigarry Hotel, an off-compass outpost with a fancy-pants design bar and suites that wouldn’t look out of place in the Maldives. — Mike MacEacheran, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2025 Partridge was dressed in classic English fancy-pants style, while Rodrigo embraced the vintage preppiness inherent to gingham. — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 2 July 2025 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fancy-pants

Adjective

Leigh feared the tracks might be too arch, too pretentious, too insincere.

— Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Breaking down the song of the summer debate Music reviewers on social media are, more often than not, pretentious snobs who take themselves too seriously, but Mic The Snare is a welcome change of pace.

— Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of pretentious

Adjective

The spit of land just east of Brighton Beach is known for the grandiose creations that compete with the Mill Basin mansions nearby.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 15 Sep. 2026
Sometimes sweaty, sometimes sneering, often grandiose, and always conflicted, this Hansen presents the actor with a marvelous opportunity to demonstrate his stupefying range.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of grandiose

Adjective

Instead, just enjoy the whacking of the pompous, the powerful and parents — that’s what Stone and Parker do.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
Symptoms include baby fever, exacerbated by the pregnancy announcement of her sister Macy (Zosia Mamet), and an intolerance to her pompous, long-term but non-committal boyfriend Spencer (Finn Wittrock).

— Katie Walsh, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of pompous

Adjective

The result is a feedback loop where leadership sets aggressive targets, teams present a rosier picture than reality supports and leadership then makes the next round of decisions on inflated data.

— Nacho De Marco, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Bad tax advice promoted on social media We've been warned in the past about a flurry of bad tax advice by social media influencers that drove thousands of taxpayers to file bogus tax returns that claimed inflated refunds.

— Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of inflated

Adjective

Kristin, a cool, calm, and collected crisis negotiator from the purple tribe, negotiates with Kilby, a game designer from Canada on the yellow tribe.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
The captain drops the anchor near a reef where fan-like corals in shades of purple and gold overlap, creating what looks like an underwater metropolis.

— Claire Turrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of purple

Adjective

Wearing a design by Gucci, Johnson’s dress included a sheer fabric with ornate botanical embroidery throughout.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
But if the sirens came during the day, then Booth, clad in her olive-green uniform, would remain at her post in an ornate building across the street from the Palais de L’Élysée.

— April White, JSTOR Daily, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of ornate

Adjective

At the exact same time, young, upstart groups like the Ramones and the Clash were forming in response to the corporatization of rock, the bloated egos of its biggest stars, and the excesses of prog with the back-to-basics minimalism of punk.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
In the backdrop, investors are increasingly skeptical of governments’ bloated budgets and mounting deficits.

— John Towfighi, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of bloated

Adjective

Staffers are unfailingly warm and helpful, while never seeming stiff or stilted.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 June 2026
Tensions between Rian and Patrick flare when Rian drunkenly mentions a brief fling with Shiv, though the film’s clunky edit, which gives little room for the performances to breathe and play out organically within their contexts, makes these frictions feel stilted and juvenile.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026

Definition of stilted

Browse Nearby Words

fancy men

fancy-pants

fancy up

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“Fancy-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy-pants. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fancy-pants

adjective

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