pretentiousness

/pri-ˈten(t)-shəs/

borrowed from French prétentieux, from prétention "claim (as to excellence or superiority)" (going back to Middle French, borrowed from Medieval Latin praetentiōn-, praetentiō, variant of praetensiō "allegation, assertion") + -eux, going back to Latin -ōsus

adjective

  1. characterized by pretension: such as

  2. making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing)

  3. expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature

the pretentious fraud who assumes a love of culture that is alien to him

showy pretentious ostentatious mean given to excessive outward display. showy implies an imposing or striking appearance but usually suggests cheapness or poor taste. pretentious implies an appearance of importance not justified by the thing's value or the person's standing.