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 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fancy-pants

Adjective

The 101 recipes are chef-smart without being pretentious or complicated.

— Sheela Prakash, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 July 2026
But there’s much to like here — from the two leads, the numerous Bay Area shots (the Golden Gate Bridge should get a supporting actor credit), Nick Offerman as a pretentious, cruel chef and Lukas Gage as a clueless cretin love interest/coworker.

— Randy Myers, Mercury News, 24 June 2026

Definition of pretentious

Adjective

And the jovial human moments between bursts of grandiose showmanship leave the reassuring impression that Elvis really, truly enjoyed being Elvis.

— Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 6 July 2026
Given the absence of profits, investors are effectively betting on Musk’s grandiose vision of a future filled with orbital AI data centers and colonies on the Moon and Mars, lofty goals that could take decades to come to fruition — if ever.

— Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 1 July 2026

Definition of grandiose

Adjective

Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Far from being arty or pompous, Tull laced its sound with a wicked sense of humor and occasional social commentary.

— Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 25 May 2026

Definition of pompous

Adjective

The collaboration also includes a limited run of Topps trading cards that will sport his Companion character — a Mickey Mouse-style figure with Xs for eyes and inflated skull-and-crossbones features.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 8 July 2026
In the Siberian city of Irkutsk, police fined four people on Monday, accusing them of reselling gas on the black market at inflated prices, according to the region’s Interior Ministry.

— Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 6 July 2026

Definition of inflated

Adjective

In the second year, a hollow stalk with purple spots grows 5 to 10 feet tall.

— Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Then there was Felix Olivero, wearing a purple Argentina jersey and matching hat, leaning on his crutches under the hot sun on the scorching blacktop of a Hard Rock parking lot.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026

Definition of purple

Adjective

The ornate dress hit just above the ankle, revealing a pair of metallic gold pumps with a lustrous finish.

— Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 5 July 2026
Opened in 1901, the ornate behemoth in Center City, built in the style of the Second Empire, remains a showstopper today.

— Regan Stephens, New York Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of ornate

Adjective

There's a mobile app (Android/iOS) and a desktop app (Windows only), but honestly, who wants more apps bloating their already bloated app ecosystem?

— Joe Salas July 07, New Atlas, 8 July 2026
Shoppers note that the shorts are roomy and don’t bunch up, and that the elastic waistband is forgiving even while bloated.

— Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 1 July 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 10 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of fancy-pants

adjective

Example Sentences

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