pretentious

About 0.94 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others.

   Her dress was obviously more pretentious than comfortable.

2. adjective Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.

   Their song titles are pretentious in the context of their basic lyrics.

3. adjective (obsolete, perhaps incorrect) Marked by pretense (not necessarily false pretense); intent upon success; ambitious.

Similar words

high-sounding highfalutin high-flown pompous hoity-toity jumped-up grandiloquent high-flying ostentatious showy

Often followed by

and than in or to of as but title

Word family

pretentiously pretentiousness pretentiousnesses