pretension
Example Sentences
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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
Any pretension exhibited was earned with the grace of a batted eyelash and a knowing smirk.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2025
The scene was very close-knit, and they didn’t have any pretension of getting signed to a major label or anything.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2025
There was a baby-knit culotte and matching polo with Gucci stripe detailing, worn without pretension.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
"Well, except he's a baritone," Jane says, her music pretension apparently extending even to the world of opera.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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
The gap between European pretensions and European reality has become a chasm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
In 1956, shortly before his death, Mencken went even further; “American journalism is predominantly paltry and worthless. Its pretensions are enormous, but its achievements are insignificant.”
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2025
And Dorothy was of an unusually independent mind, impatient with the pretensions that sometimes accompanied the upwardly mobile members of the race.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Vocabulary lists containing pretension
Common Sense
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Pygmalion
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The 57 Bus
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