Definition of “pretension” - English Dictionary

American

“pretension” in English

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pretensionnoun

uk ​ /prɪˈten.ʃən/ us ​ /prɪˈten.ʃən/

› [ C usually plural ] a claim or belief that you can succeed or that you are important or have serious value:

The Chronicle has pretensions to being a serious newspaper.
The NY Giants' Super Bowl pretensions were dashed when they were beaten last week.

› [ U ] also pretentiousness, the act of trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of “pretension” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“pretension” in American English

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pretensionnoun [ C/U ]

us ​ /prɪˈten·ʃən/

› the appearance of being more important or more serious than there is reason for:

[ U ] Leonard’s paintings have a real freedom from pretension.

› A pretension is also a claim or belief that you can succeed or that you are important or have serious value:

[ C usually pl ] He has no pretensions for higher office.

(Definition of “pretension” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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