Meaning & use
Pretension
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An unfounded or exaggerated claim to a particular quality, status, or importance.
See it in a sentence
Despite his pretensions to expertise, he had never actually run a business.
The restaurant dropped its pretensions and started serving simple, honest food.
A note on using this word
"Pretension" comes from the Latin praetendere, "to claim" or "to put forward as an excuse," and often implies a gap between a claimed status and reality.
Words with a similar meaning
affectationconceit
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. noun
A stated intention or aspiration.
The company has no pretensions of becoming a global brand overnight.
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