1. pretension - Noun
2. pretension - Verb
The act of pretending, or laying claim; the act of asserting right or title.
A claim made, whether true or false; a right alleged or assumed; a holding out the appearance of possessing a certain character; as, pretensions to scholarship.
Source: Webster's dictionaryGreat artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike. Margot Fonteyn
In economics, hope and faith coexist with great scientific pretension and also a deep desire for respectability. John Kenneth Galbraith
In every commercial state, notwithstanding any pretension to equal rights, the exaltation of a few must depress the many. Adam Ferguson
It was possible at last to hear the silence-to appreciate that there was a silence, deep and potent, out there beyond the pretension of the light. Robert Charles Wilson
Science makes no pretension to eternal truth or absolute truth. Eric Temple Bell
He flattered himself on being a man without any prejudices; and this pretension itself is a very great prejudice. Anatole France