Standard Lemma guide

pretension

noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: P R IY0 T EH1 N SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Pretentiousness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To apply tension to an object before some other event or process.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To apply tension to reinforcing strands before concrete is poured in.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, construction, manufacturing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a false or unsupportable quality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pretense, pretence

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: artificiality

6

noun

Meaning 6

the quality of being pretentious (behaving or speaking in such a manner as to create a false appearance of great importance or worth)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pretentiousness, largeness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: unnaturalness

Narrower terms: ostentation

7

noun

Meaning 7

the advancing of a claim

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his pretension to the crown
  • the town still puts forward pretensions as a famous resort

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: claim

History

Etymology

From Middle English pretencioun, pretensioun, from Medieval Latin prētēnsiō.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh2- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh2i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae-lbor. Middle English pre- English pre- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *téndeti Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin tēnsiōder. Middle French tensionbor. English tension English pretension From pre- + tension.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bashkir: дәғүә (dəğwə) — claim
  • Bulgarian: претенция (pretencija) — claim
  • Dutch: pretentie — claim
  • French: prétention — claim
  • Portuguese: pretensão — claim
  • Romanian: pretenție — claim
  • Russian: претензия (pretenzija) — claim
  • Russian: притязание (pritjazanije) — claim
  • Spanish: pretensión — claim
  • Swedish: choser — claim
  • Swedish: sjåser — claim
  • Ukrainian: прете́нзія (preténzija) — claim
  • Bulgarian: претенциозност (pretencioznost) — pretentiousness
  • Dutch: aanmatiging — pretentiousness
  • French: prétention — pretentiousness
  • Irish: móiréis — pretentiousness
  • Romanian: pretențiozitate — pretentiousness
  • Spanish: pretención — pretentiousness
  • Swedish: choser — pretentiousness
  • Swedish: sjåser — pretentiousness