pretensions
Unearned grand claims
Pretensions are claims to importance, merit, or distinction—often implying the claims exceed reality.
Someone with literary pretensions aspires to be taken seriously as a writer, perhaps without the talent to justify it.
The restaurant has pretensions to fine dining but serves microwaved appetizers.
The word carries skepticism: pretensions are ambitions viewed from outside, usually unfavorably.
A place without pretensions is unpretentious—comfortable in what it actually is.
Pretentious behavioral displays
- posturingInsincere behavior for effect
- pomposityExaggerated sense of importance
- snobberyPretentious social superiority
- haughtinessDisdainful sense of superiority
conceit · vanity · grandiosity · showiness · pretentiousness · self-importance · affectedness · artificiality
Decorative outer layer
- guiseExternal manner shown
- charadeAbsurd or obvious pretense
- frontForward-facing side
- maskFace-worn concealment
sham · pose · disguise · illusion · deception · artifice · superficiality · window-dressing
Desire for achievement
- strivingEarnest sustained endeavor
- aspiringSeeking to achieve
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
- reachingExtending toward something
social climbing · upward mobility · advancement · self-improvement · betterment · rising · elevation · pursuit
Excessively eye-catching
- flashyShowy, often tastelessly so
- flamboyantStrikingly bold in style
- extravagantExceeding sensible bounds
- garishTastelessly showy
gaudy · theatrical · grandiose · opulent · overwrought · ornate · ostentatious · lavish
Confident statement of fact
- entitlementAssumed right to benefits
- demandForceful request or requirement
- rightMorally proper or entitled
- titleFormal honorific or name
grounds · justification · basis · merit · legitimacy · credential · qualification · warrant
airs
Pretentious behavioral displays
- posturingInsincere behavior for effect
- pomposityExaggerated sense of importance
- snobberyPretentious social superiority
haughtiness · conceit · vanity · grandiosity · showiness · pretentiousness · self-importance · affectedness · artificiality · put-on
veneer
Decorative outer layer
mask · sham · pose · disguise · illusion · deception · artifice · superficiality · window-dressing · false front
ambition
Desire for achievement
reaching · social climbing · upward mobility · advancement · self-improvement · betterment · rising · elevation · pursuit · ladder-climbing
showy
Excessively eye-catching
- flashyShowy, often tastelessly so
- flamboyantStrikingly bold in style
- extravagantExceeding sensible bounds
garish · gaudy · theatrical · grandiose · opulent · overwrought · ornate · ostentatious · lavish · splashy
assertion
Confident statement of fact
- entitlementAssumed right to benefits
- demandForceful request or requirement
- rightMorally proper or entitled
title · grounds · justification · basis · merit · legitimacy · credential · qualification · warrant · authority
pretensionsgenuineness
Quality of being real
authenticity · modesty · humility · sincerity · honesty
pretensionsmodesty
Absence of vanity
humility · unpretentiousness · self-effacement · humbleness · meekness
pretensionssimplicity
Lack of complexity
plainness · naturalness · artlessness · unaffectedness · folksiness