How to Use pretension in a Sentence

pretension

noun
  • I admire his honesty and lack of pretension.
  • He spoke about his achievements without pretension.
  • The restaurant offers excellent food without pretension.
  • The pretension of wine culture leaves a bad taste in her mouth.
    — Taylor Mims, Billboard, 2 June 2022
  • Chumley’s was too old and too small for any such pretensions.
    — Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2017
  • Wearing shades sans-sun used to scream pretension or pink eye.
    — Tatum Dooley, Teen Vogue, 31 May 2019
  • Every so often the seas rise up and blow away all the pomp and pretension.
    — Charles Graeber, Travel + Leisure, 6 Mar. 2021
  • Her boys laughed at her pretensions, prattle, and lack of culture.
    — Longreads, 21 June 2017
  • Her shots are pretty in the realest sense of the word, and glamorous without pretension.
    — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Nov. 2019
  • The pieces are meta and self-aware but not weighed down by excess pretension or sporty detailing.
    — Liz Raiss, GQ, 14 May 2018
  • Such pretensions on the part of the mega-rich aren’t new; Lowell reminds us of that.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
  • That lack of pretension made his earthshaking songs hit even harder.
    — Jason Heller, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2022
  • What saves the gimmick from tipping over into leaden pretension is a sense of play.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Oct. 2022
  • There’s no phoniness, no pretension.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Related Yet the show floated along on its own lack of pretension.
    — Ben Fritz, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2019
  • Maison Close has a buzzy and chic vibe which lacks pretension and arrogance.
    — Jeryl Brunner, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2023
  • What seemed like pretension was just a mind delighting in its own connections.
    — Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
  • The labels, too, shed pretension, reminding one of album art — stark and to the point.
    — Joseph Hernandez, chicagotribune.com, 14 Feb. 2018
  • Even with accolades in hand, Lanham said there is no pretension.
    — Alyson Sheppard, Robb Report, 21 July 2023
  • The stylish show is choreographed, as the title would demand, but without pretension.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2022
  • The same thing Linklater has been teaching me my whole life, which is that humor is the great cure for pretension.
    — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
  • To adore the literary greats but reject any modicum of pretension?
    — Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
  • At Callie, there is no pretension, no white tablecloths in the dining room and no chef’s coats in the kitchen.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2021
  • The Oscars do more harm than good, pushing year-end films toward pretension in a scramble for prizes.
    — Hal Boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, 5 Mar. 2018
  • Logan is used to things being handed to him on a silver platter, and his pretension drives a wedge between them.
    — Natalie Morin, refinery29.com, 15 Mar. 2022
  • The story is said to explore themes of love, jealousy, ambition and pretension.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
  • But The Bear has earned its ambitions, even a little pretension.
    — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 22 June 2023
  • Few things jar the delicate pretensions of the cocktail sophisticate so much as a drink with a chicken on top.
    — The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
  • That pretension extends beyond the title, with the movie opening with a quote from Plato.
    — Kimber Myers, latimes.com, 20 July 2017
  • The film prizes style, but has no higher ambition than to entertain, with an economy of means and no fussy pretension.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pretension.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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