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Recent Examples of fancy-pants
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
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
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
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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But Newsom’s shadow diplomacy, widely seen as a pretentious distraction during the Biden years, has a different look at a moment of nativism and trade conflict in Washington.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Elevated with an ever-evolving menu of dishes in a non-pretentious yet upscale environment, Forty 1 is led by Chef Lindsey Dale who is no stranger to fresh, local ingredients, and who also works closely with local purveyors.—
David Duran,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Jackson resigned and formed his own organization, PUSH – which originally stood for People United to Save Humanity before being amended to the less grandiose People United to Serve Humanity.—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
17 Feb. 2026
-
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Williams draws us into the characters' magical realm with a playful yet slightly sinister music box theme that soon expands out into a grandiose series of orchestral broomstick swoops, setting the stage for the mega-successful series to come.—
Alex Galbraith,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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When a pompous male customer refused to be waited on by a female server, Bass quietly approached the table.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
1 Feb. 2026
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Jeffrey Tambor Known for playing the pompous, self-important mayor of Whoville, Jeffery Tambor also has an esteemed career across television and film.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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State officials are asking lawmakers to craft a bill that would allow the Department of Social Services to limit Medicaid payments for unionized nursing homes whose owners hire family members at inflated salaries.—
Jenna Carlesso,
Hartford Courant,
19 Feb. 2026
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Those inflated costs fall squarely on the shoulders of small businesses and working families through higher premiums and lower take-home pay.—
Bianca Blomquist,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Red, purple and maroon monitors would indicate more serious health risks.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Dogwoods provide additional interest throughout the year with red fall fruits and striking burgundy red to purple autumn foliage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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No rote midcentury-modern furniture here, nor the ornate colonial opulence that seems to be a default in many of Peru's more traditional five-stars.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Feb. 2026
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This includes the black-and-white Courtly Check, pale-pink Rosy Check, ornate Butterfly Toile, springtime-evoking Wildflowers, and Butterfly Hill.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Miami also must figure out how to address the future of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, whose tenure with the franchise is on unstable ground because of his struggles in 2025, bloated salary, and the regime change.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
16 Feb. 2026
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Hill gave two great years in his four with the Dolphins, but was on the chopping block with a bloated 2026 price even before his nasty knee injury.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Thomas treats the children as a topiary artist treats foliage, bending their wild spirits into stilted shapes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
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The entry-level category lagoon studio suite starts at a generous 788 square-feet of indoor space, coupled with a 1,016-square-foot private patio with a heated plunge pool; for a bit more space, including a generous separate living room, book a stilted room that rests over the water.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fancy-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy-pants. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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