as in pretentious
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Recent Examples of fancy-pants
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
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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Whereas the first movie made clear that Spinal Tap was a ridiculous band whose pretentious members didn’t have much musical talent, we’re now supposed to believe its admirers include Sirs Paul McCartney and Elton John.—
Christopher J. Scalia,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Sep. 2025
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And though all of Anderson’s artistry and jittery comedic sensibility is present, the director hasn’t created a pretentious version of an action flick; One Battle After Another is the real thing, filled with beautifully shot car chases and shoot-outs.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But his apparent attempts to resolve his past misdeeds with grandiose discoveries might well have been an attempt to cope with trauma.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
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Government buildings in Moscow and grandiose Ministry of Defense infrastructure could become open targets.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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While The Morning Show presents the news business as glossy and glamorous (and often a little pompous), The Paper takes the opposite view with the documentary crew from The Office now focusing on a dying newspaper in Ohio.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
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Guigal’s strategy isn’t built on pompous conservatism, but in long-term thinking.—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The term bubble usually refers to a period of inflated stock prices or valuations of companies that have disconnected from the fundamentals of a business.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
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More often, consumers pay for layers of marketing and inflated brand premiums.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Friday night brings their first preseason matchup as the purple and gold take on the Phoenix Suns.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Oct. 2025
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Some plants that go all gold in fall simply don’t have the biochemical apparatus to produce the orange, red and purple pigments that predominate in calendar and screen saver photos of New England’s autumn landscape.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Join the crowds taking photos of the ornate building from the piazza, and then ascend to the terrace to marvel at the 135 gargoyles and other carvings up close and take in the city’s skyline.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
AFAR Media,
3 Oct. 2025
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The Japandi design style—a hybrid of Japanese and Scandinavian styles—has clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic that’s ideal for small entryways where a larger or more ornate style would overpower the space.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For almost the entire bloated two-hour run time, Black keeps his foot on the accelerator in the hope that audiences won’t notice the haphazard, barely logical plotting.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Other symptoms include abdominal pain, changes to bathroom habits, bloated stomach, unexplained weight loss, vomiting and fatigue and feeling short of breath, per the Cleveland Clinic.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The 21-year-old model walked slower than the other models, opting for a stilted gait in her white patent-leather pumps.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
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Donovan’s Meyers is fascinating in his stilted weirdness, a bit of a dandy and a bit of a dork.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fancy-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy-pants. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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