PRETENSION Synonyms: 185 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'pretension' different from other nouns like it?

The words ambition and aspiration are common synonyms of pretension . While all three words mean "strong desire for advancement," pretension suggests ardent desire for recognition of accomplishment often without actual possession of the necessary ability and therefore may imply presumption. // has literary pretensions

Q: When would 'ambition' be a good substitute for 'pretension'?

The words ambition and pretension can be used in similar contexts, but ambition applies to the desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire. // driven by ambition

Q: In what contexts can 'aspiration' take the place of 'pretension'?

While in some cases nearly identical to pretension , aspiration implies a striving after something higher than oneself. // an aspiration to become president someday

pretension

noun

pri-ˈten(t)-shən

Definition of pretension next

as in right

an entitlement to something a pretension of long standing to the throne of Hungary

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as in arrogance

an exaggerated sense of one's importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims a woman full of pretension and pompousness

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as in affectation

the quality or state of appearing or trying to appear more important or more valuable than is the case the pretension of that French restaurant is more than I can bear

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as in purpose

something that one hopes or intends to accomplish has serious pretensions of becoming a writer

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word pretension different from other nouns like it?

The words ambition and aspiration are common synonyms of pretension. While all three words mean "strong desire for advancement," pretension suggests ardent desire for recognition of accomplishment often without actual possession of the necessary ability and therefore may imply presumption.

has literary pretensions

When would ambition be a good substitute for pretension?

The words ambition and pretension can be used in similar contexts, but ambition applies to the desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire.

driven by ambition

In what contexts can aspiration take the place of pretension?

While in some cases nearly identical to pretension, aspiration implies a striving after something higher than oneself.

an aspiration to become president someday

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pretension There were no pretensions of showmanship, no displays of braggadocio — just the hollow ringing of palms on goatskin. —

Taran Dugal, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2024 The car comes equipped with the standard sensor suite for cars with pretensions to urban autonomy: lidars on the roof and around the front bumper, and radar and cameras just about everywhere else. —

IEEE Spectrum, 29 Dec. 2016 To arrive at this integration, however, he must be stripped, like Voss, of his own pretensions and the schisms within his self. —

Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 4 Dec. 2024 Know your audience, an excitable kind of reader informs the author of a piece that fails to flatter his pretensions or reinforce her most uncharitable assumptions about her political opponents. —

Noah Rothman, National Review, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pretension

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretension

Noun

And even if O’Neill Burke chooses not to, the state’s Workers Rights Amendment, which enshrines the right to collective bargaining in the state’s constitution, provides a legal foundation to counteract the 1995 decision, labor representatives said.

— Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025
Disability rights protected by NJ law The state offers legal protection through the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which safeguards against workplace bias, including for remote workers.

— Gene Myers, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025