Word: pretentious (adjective)

Associations

The word "pretentious" describes someone or something that tries to appear more important, clever, or valuable than they really are. It often has a negative meaning because it suggests showing off or being fake.

• Example 1: "He used big words in his speech, but it sounded pretentious." (He wanted to seem smart but it felt fake.)
• Example 2: "That restaurant is too pretentious for me; they have very fancy dishes but small portions." (The restaurant tries to seem very fancy, maybe too much.)
• Example 3: "She gave a pretentious answer to the simple question." (She tried to sound more intelligent than needed.)

Synonym: "showy" or "snobbish" can be similar, but "pretentious" focuses more on trying to impress others by pretending to be better or more important.

Substitution

Instead of "pretentious," you can say:

• "showy" (focuses on attracting attention by appearance)
• "ostentatious" (very fancy or flashy to impress)
• "snobbish" (acting like you are better than others)

Each word changes the feeling a little: "pretentious" is about pretending or faking, "showy" is about being flashy, and "snobbish" is about feeling superior.

Deconstruction

"pretentious" comes from the Latin word "praetendere," which means "to pretend" or "to stretch out before." The prefix "pre-" means "before," and the root "tend" means "to stretch." So, "pretentious" literally means stretching oneself before others to seem more important.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when someone acted pretentious? How did it make you feel?
• How is being pretentious different from just being confident?
• Can something be pretentious without trying to be? Why or why not?