[N-VAR 可变名词]自命不凡;虚荣;矫饰 If you say that someone has pretensions, you disapprove of them because they claim or pretend that they are more important than they really are.
[disapproval]
Her wide-eyed innocence soon exposes the pretensions of the art world...
她的天真烂漫很快就暴露了艺术界的矫揉造作。
We like him for his honesty, his lack of pretension.
我们喜欢他的诚实、不浮夸。
2
[N-UNCOUNT 不可数名词]声称;标榜;自称 If someone has pretensions to something, they claim to be or do that thing.
[also N in pl]
The city has unrealistic pretensions to world-class status...
这个城市不切实际地标榜自己为国际都市。
It will remain as a pressure group, but no longer has any pretension to be a political party.
它仍然是一个压力集团,但不再自称是一个政党。
Oxford
pre·ten·sion/prɪˈtenʃn; NAmEprɪˈtenʃn/noun[countable , usually plural, uncountable ]1the act of trying to appear more important, intelligent, etc. than you are in order to impress other people 虚饰;虚夸◆intellectual pretensions装作有知识◆The play mocks the pretensions of the new middle class.这出戏讽刺了新中产阶级的装模作样。◆He spoke without pretension.他有话直说,不装相。2a claim to be or to do sth 自命;声称;标榜pretension(to sth/to doing sth) ◆a building with no pretensions to architectural merit没有刻意表现建筑特色的楼房pretension(to do sth) ◆The movie makes no pretension to reproduce life.这部电影并未标榜重现了真实生活。pretensionpretensionspre·ten·sion/prɪˈtenʃn; NAmEprɪˈtenʃn/
LDC
pretensionpre‧ten‧sion /prɪˈtenʃən/ noun [countable usually plural, uncountable]
Examples
Collocations
1an attempt to seem more important, more intelligent, or of a higher class than you really arepretension to Lilith resented Adam’s pretensions to superiority. the humbleness and lack of pretension of Jordan’s cafe2a claim to be or do somethingpretension(s) to be something The group don’t have any pretensions to be pop stars.pretension to a large village with pretensions to the status of a small town
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