Pretentiously

//pɹɪˈtɛnʃəsliː// adv

adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    In a manner with unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.
  2. 2
    Ostentatiously; in a manner intended to impress others.

    "Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy—[…]—distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its flavor."

  3. 3
    In a manner demanding of skill or daring.
Adverb
  1. 1
    in a pretentious manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
loftily

Example

More examples

"Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy—[…]—distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its flavor."

Etymology

From pretentious + -ly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.