pretentious

Name: pretentious, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/

//pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs// adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“pretentious” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,367 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#23,367
frequency rank, English: 11
letters: 16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others.

Key facts for pretentious
Property	Value
Headword	pretentious
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#23,367
Misspellings tracked	16
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pretentious” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pretentious lands here:

#23,367

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for pretentious is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,367 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for pretentious, with forms such as "pertentious", "ppretentious", and "preetntious". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French prétentieux, from prétention, from Latin praetēnsus (“false or hypocritical profession”), past participle of praetendō. Note that pretentious is spelled with a ‘t’, unlike related pretense, pretension. This is due to the French spelling: *-sious… The correct English form is pretentious, spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S.

Definition

1
Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others.
2
Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.

Etymology

From French prétentieux, from prétention, from Latin praetēnsus (“false or hypocritical profession”), past participle of praetendō. Note that pretentious is spelled with a ‘t’, unlike related pretense, pretension. This is due to the French spelling: *-sious does not occur as an English suffix, though -sion and -tion both do.

Synonyms

highfalutin affected effete fey recherché hoity-toityoverrefinedpansified precious pretentious smug stagy stilted theatrical Woosterian

Antonyms

unpretentious humble modest demure formal natural priggish prim prudish puritanical Quakerish

This word in other languages

pretencioso(Español)prétentieux(Français)protzig(Deutsch)pretensioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pertentious,ppretentious,preetntious,pretenitous,pretenntious,pretentiosu,pretentiouss,pretentiuos,pretentoius,pretenttious,pretetnious,pretnetious,prettentious,prretentious,prteentious,rpetentious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pretentious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "pretentious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pretentious"?

"pretentious" is spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/.

What does "pretentious" mean?

As an adjective, "pretentious" means: Motivated by an inappropriate, excessive, or unjustified desire to impress others.

What are common misspellings of "pretentious"?

Common misspellings include "pertentious", "ppretentious", "preetntious", "pretenitous", "pretenntious". The correct spelling is "pretentious".

How do you pronounce "pretentious"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pretentious" is /pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "pretentious"?

From French prétentieux, from prétention, from Latin praetēnsus (“false or hypocritical profession”), past participle of praetendō. Note that pretentious is spelled with a ‘t’, unlike related pretense, pretension. This is due to the French spellin... See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “pretentious”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /pɹɪˈtɛn.t͡ʃəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.