pretension

See also: pretensión

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English pretencioun, pretensioun, from Medieval Latin prētēnsiō.

Alternative forms

• prætension (obsolete)

Noun

pretension (countable and uncountable, plural pretensions)

1. A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality.
   • 1872, “Reviews of Postal Publications”, in The Stamp-Collector's Magazine, volume 10, page 110:

     As a foreign stamp gazette it is nowhere. An article on Stamp Collecting, by J. E. Gray, “reprinted from one of his books,” and a catalogue of stamps constitute its sole attraction. We are surprised to find such sounding pretentions so poorly supported.

2. Pretentiousness.

Related terms

• pretense
• pretentious

Translations

claim

• Bashkir: дәғүә (dəğwə)
• Bulgarian: претенция (bg) f (pretencija)
• Dutch: pretentie (nl)
• French: prétention (fr) f
• Portuguese: pretensão (pt)
• Romanian: pretenție (ro)
• Russian: претензия (ru) m (pretenzija), притязание (ru) m (pritjazanije)
• Spanish: pretensión (es) f
• Ukrainian: прете́нзія (uk) f (preténzija)

pretentiousness

• Bulgarian: претенциозност (bg) f (pretencioznost)
• Dutch: aanmatiging (nl)
• French: prétention (fr) f
• Irish: móiréis f
• Romanian: pretențiozitate (ro) f

Etymology 2

pre- +‎ tension

Verb

pretension (third-person singular simple present pretensions, present participle pretensioning, simple past and past participle pretensioned)

1. To apply tension to an object before some other event or process.
2. (construction) To apply tension to reinforcing strands before concrete is poured in.

   Coordinate term: posttension

Anagrams

• interpones, peritenons, presention, tin openers, tin-openers