different between pretentious vs overbearing

English

Alternative forms

• prætentious (rare, pedantic or (esp. self-referentially) humorous)

Etymology

From French prétentieux, from prétention, from Latin praet?nsus (“false or hypocritical profession”), past participle of praetend?.

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p???t?n??s/

Adjective

pretentious (comparative more pretentious, superlative most pretentious)

1. Intended to impress others; ostentatious.

   Her dress was obviously more pretentious than comfortable.

2. Marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction.

   Their song titles are pretentious in the context of their basic lyrics.

Synonyms

• poseur
• See also Thesaurus:arrogant

Antonyms

• unpretentious

Derived terms

• pretentiously
• pretentiousness

Related terms

• pretend
• pretender
• pretense
• pretension

Translations

References

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

Anagrams

• postuterine

English

Etymology

From overbear (“to bear down (on)”) +? -ing.

Verb

overbearing

1. present participle of overbear

Adjective

overbearing (comparative more overbearing, superlative most overbearing)

1. Overly bossy, domineering, or arrogant.

Synonyms

• demanding, dictatorial, dominant, haughty, high-handed
• See also Thesaurus:bossy
• See also Thesaurus:arrogant

Derived terms

• overbearingly
• overbearingness

Translations

Further reading

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