pretentious

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

pre·ten·tious BrE [prɪˈtenʃəs] NAmE [prɪˈtenʃəs] adjective (disapproving)
trying to appear important, intelligent, etc. in order to impress other people; trying to be sth that you are not, in order to impress
•That's a pretentious name for a dog!
•It was just an ordinary house— nothing pretentious.
•He's so pretentious!
compare ↑unpretentious
Derived Words: ↑pretentiously ▪ ↑pretentiousness

Word Origin:
[pretentious pretentiously pretentiousness] mid 19th cent.: from French prétentieux, from prétention from medieval Latin praetensio(n-), from praetens- ‘alleged’, from the verb praetendere ‘stretch forth, claim’, from prae ‘before’ + tendere ‘stretch’.

Example Bank:
•He's so pretentious!
•That's a pretentious name for a cat!

• Từ trái nghĩa / Antonyms:
  unostentatious, unpretentious, unpretending