Pretentiousness

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pretentious \Pre*ten"tious\, a. [Cf. F. pr['e]tentieux. See
     {Pretend}.]
     Full of pretension; disposed to lay claim to more than is
     one's; presuming; assuming. -- {Pre*ten"tious*ly}, adv. --
     {Pre*ten"tious*ness}, n.
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pretentiousness
       n 1: lack of elegance as a consequence of being pompous and
            puffed up with vanity [syn: {ostentation}, {ostentatiousness},
             {pomposity}, {pompousness}, {splashiness}, {inflation}]
       2: the quality of being pretentious (creating a false
          appearance of great importance or worth) [syn: {pretension}]
          [ant: {unpretentiousness}]