1
as in right
an entitlement to something
a pretension of long standing to the throne of Hungary
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrogance
an exaggerated sense of one's importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims
a woman full of pretension and pompousness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in affectation
the quality or state of appearing or trying to appear more important or more valuable than is the case
the pretension of that French restaurant is more than I can bear
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in purpose
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish
has serious pretensions of becoming a writer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretension
This action comedy is audacious in portraying the pretensions of show business.
—
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Jan. 2026
The pilot isn’t quite sure what makes Arthur funny, alternating between jokes about his artistic pretensions and his extreme whiteness.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Jan. 2026
Drop the pretension of a late-night club and lean into a space-filled with incredible music and community (and the pleasant glow of daylight).
—Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
His pretensions—riding around in a grand coach and continuing the weekly levees—as well as his administration’s notorious effort to enforce deference in the 1798 Sedition Act, fell flat.
—Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pretension
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Jan. 2026
The pilot isn’t quite sure what makes Arthur funny, alternating between jokes about his artistic pretensions and his extreme whiteness.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Jan. 2026
Drop the pretension of a late-night club and lean into a space-filled with incredible music and community (and the pleasant glow of daylight).
—Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
His pretensions—riding around in a grand coach and continuing the weekly levees—as well as his administration’s notorious effort to enforce deference in the 1798 Sedition Act, fell flat.
—Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pretension
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretension
Noun
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Raman previously worked at a women’s rights organization formed in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement before becoming a council member.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
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Nevertheless, Pérez said, ICE has called on local law enforcement agencies to keep members of the public who have a right to monitor or document ICE activities from doing so.—
Linh Tat,
Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Raised on a strict diet of toughness and discipline by his father, Dean arrives with undeniable talent – and an arrogance that quickly earns him enemies.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
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Things moved about at the top with a little more arrogance and zip but at the bottom was the ever-moving present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For the most part though, For the First Time, Again is weighed down by oversinging and emotional affectation.—
Millan Verma,
Pitchfork,
30 Jan. 2026
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The self-conscious aspiration to hipness here is unfortunate and decidedly not cool, but some may find such affectations quaint.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Soldiers from the Multi-purpose Company, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division operated the aircraft during the drill.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
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The real purpose of the campaign was to draw attention to the violation of Japanese Americans’ Constitutional rights.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Those who make these claims apparently haven't been paying much attention these past four years, in particular to which side (hint, Russia) has been forced to shed most of that blood.—
Bradley Gitz,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
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Tenuous evidence of mass exodus Sensor Tower’s user data more fundamentally seems to suggest that beyond anecdotal claims, users have largely been unable to identify tangible changes in TikTok’s American operations, or at least, not enough to meaningfully shift user sentiment.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Despite the contradiction, this strategy worked because elites are universally perceived as out of touch with the real world – with privileged and sheltered life experience that begets a sense of superiority.—
Alexa Beck,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
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The result is a battlefield where concealment is harder, decision cycles are faster, and information superiority increasingly depends on who can best collect, process, and act on what their satellites see.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Call it polish without pretense.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
17 Feb. 2026
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This is not an e-bike; there are no pedals and, interestingly, no pretense of a bicycle categorization to blur regulatory lines.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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An assistant under Bradley and Cherundolo, Dos Santos’ first-choice tactics will be to possess the ball, counterpress and defend as far as possible from the LAFC goal, thus dominating games while attacking more through the inside with a 4-2-3-1 formation.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
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Brendan McLaughlin potted a pair of goals to prove the difference for Marshfield, rallying from an early two-goal deficit to beat Quincy/North Quincy 4-2 in Patriot League action.—
Tyler McManus,
Boston Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretension. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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