Synonyms of pretentious

pretentious

adjective

pri-ˈten(t)-shəs 

1

as in arrogant

self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance

that pretentious couple always serves caviar at their parties, even though they themselves dislike it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrogant
• pompous
• ostentatious
• grandiose
• smug
• proud
• high-minded
• highfalutin
• snippy
• la-di-da
• affected
• conceited
• rude
• snobbish
• grandiloquent
• vainglorious
• aggressive
• sententious
• vain
• snobby
• supercilious
• bumptious
• uppity
• high-and-mighty
• presumptuous
• cavalier
• self-important
• egotistic
• confident
• high-sounding
• haughty
• important
• egoistic
• prideful
• high-toned
• complacent
• hoity-toity
• high-handed
• boastful
• disdainful
• imperious
• self-centered
• assertive
• sure
• self-obsessed
• self-aggrandizing
• high-flown
• self-satisfied
• high-hat
• showy
• impudent
• self-conceited
• insolent
• gaudy
• self-promoting
• self-complacent
• stuck-up
• cocky
• cheeky
• overweening
• superior
• self-dramatizing
• airy
• flamboyant
• garish
• self-glorifying
• flashy
• brassy
• glitzy
• self-assertive
• self-assured
• audacious
• lordly
• self-confident
• braggart
• self-pleased
• self-asserting
• bold
• bragging
• flaunting
• splashy
• forward

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unpretentious
• modest
• humble
• unassuming
• homely
• meek
• lowly
• down-to-earth
• passive
• timid
• retiring
• quiet
• shy
• bashful
• unassertive
• reserved
• demure
• mousy
• diffident
• overmodest

2

as in superior

having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude

a pretentious author whose books only appeal to equally pretentious readers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrogant
• superior
• supercilious
• cavalier
• important
• pompous
• bumptious
• uppity
• haughty
• high-and-mighty
• assumptive
• sniffy
• presumptuous
• domineering
• smug
• uppish
• high-handed
• dominant
• masterful
• highfalutin
• chesty
• huffy
• imperious
• high-hat
• patronizing
• authoritarian
• proud
• presuming
• lofty
• snobbish
• dominating
• condescending
• huffish
• self-assertive
• overweening
• lordly
• peremptory
• toplofty
• snobby
• snooty
• pontifical
• boastful
• impudent
• bossy
• self-asserting
• conceited
• vainglorious
• stiff-necked
• bombastic
• disdainful
• narcissistic
• egocentric
• saucy
• vain
• cocky
• magisterial
• hubristic
• blusterous
• egotistic
• impertinent
• pontificating
• braggy
• swaggering
• blustery
• egoistic
• complacent
• prideful
• immodest
• stuck-up
• self-centered
• braggart
• self-satisfied
• uninhibited
• self-conceited
• bragging
• self-promoting
• self-complacent
• extroverted
• brash
• self-flattering
• unreserved
• self-loving
• self-affected
• self-pleased
• self-applauding
• orgulous
• forward

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• humble
• unpretentious
• modest
• lowly
• timid
• shy
• bashful
• sheepish
• introverted
• diffident
• subdued
• passive
• mousy
• unassuming
• shrinking
• demure
• unobtrusive
• deferential
• meek
• submissive
• compliant
• unassertive
• unarrogant
• unaggressive
• acquiescent
• quiet
• self-critical
• cringing
• yielding
• self-doubting
• reserved
• overmodest
• cowering
• retiring

Synonym Chooser

How is the word pretentious different from other adjectives like it?

The words ostentatious and showy are common synonyms of pretentious. While all three words mean "given to excessive outward display," pretentious implies an appearance of importance not justified by the thing's value or the person's standing.

a pretentious parade of hard words

When might ostentatious be a better fit than pretentious?

In some situations, the words ostentatious and pretentious are roughly equivalent. However, ostentatious stresses vainglorious display or parade.

the ostentatious summer homes of the rich

When is it sensible to use showy instead of pretentious?

The words showy and pretentious can be used in similar contexts, but showy implies an imposing or striking appearance but usually suggests cheapness or poor taste.

the performers' showy costumes

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pretentious

She had been blamed for breaking up the greatest band of all time; her art was pretentious and nonsensical; her music was unlistenable. —Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 21 Feb. 2026

And not to get too pretentious, but in a Greek theater setting, the archetypes these guys represent. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026

Think fine dining but not pretentious. —Eddie Fontanez, AZCentral.com, 18 Feb. 2026

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