pretension
noun/prɪˈtenʃn/
/prɪˈtenʃn/
[countable, usually plural, uncountable]- the act of trying to appear more important, intelligent, etc. than you are in order to impress other people
- intellectual pretensions
- The play mocks the pretensions of the new middle class.
- He spoke without pretension.
- a young couple with social pretensions
- She was charmed by his lack of pretension.
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- a claim to be or to do something
- pretension to (doing) something a building with no pretensions to architectural merit
- pretension (to do something) The movie makes no pretension to reproduce life.
Word Originlate Middle English: from medieval Latin praetensio(n-), from praetens- ‘alleged’, from the verb praetendere ‘stretch forth, claim’, from prae ‘before’ + tendere ‘stretch’.
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pretension