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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretentious
Wine doesn’t have to be pretentious or complicated.
—
Liz Thach, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Trust the French to come up with the most pretentious word in the dictionary.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Sure, there were some pretentious amateurs on the other side of the camera, but the most successful physique photographers were pros with recognizable styles.
—Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
Cage doesn’t get a toe in the tide before he’s given the heave-ho by a pretentious group of quasi-spiritual surfers called the Bay Boys.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretentious
Liz Thach, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Trust the French to come up with the most pretentious word in the dictionary.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Sure, there were some pretentious amateurs on the other side of the camera, but the most successful physique photographers were pros with recognizable styles.
—Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
Cage doesn’t get a toe in the tide before he’s given the heave-ho by a pretentious group of quasi-spiritual surfers called the Bay Boys.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretentious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretentious
Adjective
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The protests proved conclusively that Americans will not tolerate the deployment of the U.S. military in American cities, the constant line-stepping over constitutional boundaries, the arrests of political dissenters, or the arrogant defense of police-state tactics.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
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In Aesop’s fable, the turtle (traditionally called a tortoise, which is a type of turtle) is a winner, a perpetual underdog who defeats the arrogant hare.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
8 May 2025
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Signaling a stark departure from tradition that, over the centuries, had ranged from formal to pompous, Pope Francis began teaching us, from day one, what the most genuine leadership looks like. Humble.—
Eli Amdur,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
On Saturday, on the streets of Washington, Donald Trump will throw himself a costly and ostentatious military parade, a gaudy display of waste and vainglory staged solely to inflate the president’s dirigible-sized ego.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
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The somewhat muted display represented Lamar at his most physically ostentatious.—
Bob Gendron,
Chicago Tribune,
7 June 2025
Adjective
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The message continued in this grandiose and affirming vein, doing nothing to shake Taylor loose from the grip of his delusion.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 June 2025
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From interviews with survivors, the authors determined that grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic partners both used strategies aimed at decentering their victims’ sense of self and keeping them emotionally bound.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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The best way to express this high-minded idealism was by mass-producing extremely potent, extremely pure LSD, almost as if its non-dilution was an expression of their own virtue.—
John Semley,
Rolling Stone,
19 Apr. 2025
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For generations, students and researchers from around the world have flocked to Boston, drawn not just to a college or university but to a region where high-minded intellectual life was part of its brand.—
Jenna Russell,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Our more than 18,000 Bombardier employees are proud to welcome this new, important customer to our family.—
Doug Gollan,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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But despite everything, we were driven by passion and the desire to achieve results, and many Italians who lived there as immigrants were proud of us.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretentious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretentious. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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