Meaning & use
pretentious
Attempting to appear more important, intelligent, or cultured than one actually is, often in an obvious or irritating way.
See it in a sentence
Critics called the restaurant's menu pretentious, full of fancy words for simple dishes.
He came across as pretentious, dropping references to books he clearly hadn't finished reading.
A note on using this word
Pretentious describes an affectation others find irritating or false, distinguishing it from confident, which carries no negative judgment.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
modestunpretentious
Make it your own
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