different between pretention vs ostentation

English

Noun

pretention (countable and uncountable, plural pretentions)

1. Archaic spelling of pretension.

English

Etymology

Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation, from Latin ostent?ti?, ostent?ti?nem, equivalent to ostent?tus (past participle of ostent?re, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to present, display”) + -i?n.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??st?n?te???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

ostentation (usually uncountable, plural ostentations)

1. Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause.
2. (obsolete) A show or spectacle.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4 Scene 1

     Let her awhile be secretly kept in,

     And publish it that she is dead indeed:

     Maintain a mourning ostentation;

Synonyms

• parade
• pageantry
• show
• showiness
• pomp
• pompousness
• vaunting
• boasting
• See also Thesaurus:arrogance

Related terms

• ostentatious
• ostensive
• ostensible

Translations

Further reading

• ostentation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ostentation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References

• “ostentation”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• “ostentation” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "ostentation" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s.t??.ta.sj??/

Noun

ostentation f (plural ostentations)

1. ostentation