pretension

The movie became a reference by which the absurdities of real-life rock ’n’ roll pretension would forever be measured.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025

In Field’s film, the writer-director slyly lampoons the pretension of figures high up in the worlds of ballet, opera, theater and symphony, as well as more recognizable personas in public-facing industries like film and music.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2025

There was a baby-knit culotte and matching polo with Gucci stripe detailing, worn without pretension.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2023

But embedded in such restrictions one may infer either a resistance to having his work pushed to the fringes, or a pretension in contextualizing it as a mainstream experience.

From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2023

A. without a single pretension to the character of a soldier, a perfect Quixote as a statesman.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

In Britain, the “angry young men” movement led by John Osborne in the theater was underway, and the social pretensions and expertly crafted witticisms of Coward’s comedies had fallen out of fashion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

He has no pretensions, but he’s completely comfortable on camera—something to director Lee’s advantage and which probably helped the pupils to relax.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Kenyon’s dig at “uproarious pedantry” nods to James’s intellectual pretensions, which some courtiers derided—even though a learned monarch seems preferable to an ignorant one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

Reflecting on the press, he later noted, "The press has pretensions of being a crusader but is more often a preserver of the status quo."

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025

And as such, he comes into this court under a handicap, notwithstanding our pretensions that all are equal before the law.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright