Noun: pretentiousness pri'ten-shus-nus
- Lack of elegance as a consequence of being pompous and puffed up with vanity
"The pretentiousness of the mansion reflected the owner's need to flaunt his wealth";
- ostentation, ostentatiousness, pomposity, pompousness, puffiness, splashiness, inflation
- The quality of being pretentious (behaving or speaking in such a manner as to create a false appearance of great importance or worth)
"The pretentiousness of his speech alienated the audience";
- pretension, largeness, pretence [Brit, Cdn], pretense [N. Amer]
Type of: inelegance, unnaturalness
Encyclopedia: Pretentiousness