Pretentious

Pretentious

Adjective · /prɪˈtenʃəs/ · attempting to impress by affecting greater importance than is actually possessed

Definition

Pretentious describes a person, behaviour, or thing that claims or displays a level of importance, sophistication, or worth that is not genuinely possessed or justified. The pretentious person or work is trying too hard to appear more impressive than it really is — the effort itself becomes visible, and that visibility is what makes it pretentious.

Origin

From French prétentieux, from Medieval Latin praetentio — a claim, a pretension — derived from praetendere (to stretch before, to put forward). Related to pretence, pretend, and pretension. The word entered English in the 19th century. Its Latin root carries the image of stretching something forward as a shield — making a claim bigger than the reality behind it.