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pretension

[pri-ten-shuhn]

noun

the laying of a claim to something.

a claim or title to something.

Often, pretensions. a claim made, especially indirectly or by implication, to some quality, merit, or the like: They laughed at my pretensions to superior judgment.

a claim to dignity, importance, or merit.

pretentiousness.

EXPAND

the act of pretending or alleging.

an allegation of doubtful veracity.

a pretext.

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1590–1600; < Medieval Latin praetēnsiōn- (stem of praetēnsiō). See pretense, -ion

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Pretension is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Example Sentences

From first to last, this amusing pretension has garnished his public oratory, and the responses of fluent sycophants.

Your arrogant pretension of truth is what deserves pity.

It lacks any pretension to depth as a psychological portrait.

EXPAND

From first to last, this amusing pretension has garnished his public oratory, and the responses of fluent sycophants.

Your arrogant pretension of truth is what deserves pity.

It lacks any pretension to depth as a psychological portrait.

Erudition is valued, and so is a smattering of pretension.

Spenser may be something of a smart aleck but only when he is faced with pomposity and pretension.

They warmed to the lack of pretension about the former physicist.

One cutting word is quite enough to demolish pretension of any grade, and yet a kindlier man does not live.

Anyone who says otherwise is simply demonstrating their pretension for the sake of demonstrating their pretension.

It was a curious event, sicklied o'er with the pale cast of pretension.

The end result is that economics offers too little practical benefits and too much pretension of science.

It's sincerity rather than camp, but it's likewise an affront to pretension because you're not playing the game.

But in my mother's little town such pretension is unheard of.

And everywhere he looked, he could find only the pretension to knowledge, not knowledge itself.

The agendas of interdisciplinary conferences, as they are often called, can smack of pedantry and pretension.

In everything from restaurants to friends, he likes warmth and no pretension.

And the city combines its frontier feel with a lack of pretension and a modern aspect.

Going for thoughtful spatial awareness, not pretension.

The letters are either full of pretension or they are depressing.

It was also built to be a blustery hi-fi record in the tradition of the sonic pretension of albums like.

It would remove any pretension that the solar system is unique.

Wyler plays obvious tricks with mirrors does a bit of pretension creep.

The discussions are notable for their spirit of inquiry, lack of intellectual pretension and absence of verbal one-upmanship.

She is, however, a bit short on the pretension that generally accompanies big-shot status in the world capital of publishing.

And if you're not so inclined, the film's seductive lack of pretension will make a fan of you.

It was an afternoon marred by neither pretension nor profundity.

He has done a great deal to diminish the pomp and pretension that so often envelops wine.

Thus was forged a zeal for writing in a person with no literary pretension but a great deal to write about.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used with object)

(in prestressed-concrete construction) to apply tension to (reinforcing strands) before the concrete is poured. Compare posttension (def. 1).

to make (a concrete member) with pretensioned reinforcement.

Origin:
1935–40; pre- + tension

Link To pretension

Collins

World English Dictionary

pretension (prɪˈtɛnʃən)

—n
1.	(often plural) a false or unsupportable claim, esp to merit, worth, or importance
2.	a specious or unfounded allegation; pretext
3.	the state or quality of being pretentious

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Related Words

pansophism posttension

pretense pretentious

Matching Quote

"And what avails it that science has come to treat space and time as simply forms of thought, and the material world as hypothetical, and withal our pretension of property and even of self-hood are fading with the rest, if, at last, even our thoughts are not finalities, but the incessant flowing and ascension reach these also, and each thought which yesterday was a finality, to-day is yielding to a larger generalization?"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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pretension

pre·ten·sion

pre·ten·sion