1
have pretensions to sth
多含贬义，指自以为拥有或渴望达到某种地位或品质。
He has pretensions to genius.
他自命为天才。
主张；声称
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
主张；声称
A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality.
He has pretensions to genius.
他自命为天才。
对特定地位或品质的主张或渴望
A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality.
虚假或不可靠的品质
a false or unsupportable quality
自命不凡,做作
Pretentiousness.
声称；主张
the advancing of a claim
His pretension to being an expert fooled no one.
他自称专家的虚张声势骗不了任何人。
AI contextual example
The artist's work is free from pretension and full of genuine emotion.
这位艺术家的作品毫无矫揉造作，充满了真挚的情感。
AI contextual example
She has intellectual pretensions that often annoy her colleagues.
她常表现出知识上的自命不凡，这常常惹恼同事。
AI contextual example
his pretension to the crown
他对王位的要求。
WordNet
多含贬义，指自以为拥有或渴望达到某种地位或品质。
He has pretensions to genius.
他自命为天才。
此处 pretension 为不可数名词，意为“自命不凡；装腔作势”。
She talked about her success without pretension.
她毫不装腔作势地谈论自己的成功。
pretensions 多用复数，表示不切实际的声称或渴望。
He abandoned his pretensions to a noble title.
他放弃了对贵族头衔的非分之想。
指事物本身带有的做作、虚荣的品质，常指艺术或文风。
The pretension of the novel was obvious.
这本小说的矫揉造作显而易见。
Not this
He is very pretension.
Use this
He is very pretentious.
pretension 是名词，表示“自命不凡；主张”；系动词 is 后应接形容词 pretentious，而不是名词。
Not this
She pretensions that she knows everything.
Use this
She pretends that she knows everything.
pretend 是动词，表示“假装”；pretension 是名词，不能直接用作谓语动词。
Not this
He has pretensions to be a famous singer.
Use this
He has pretensions to being a famous singer.
pretensions to 后须接名词或动名词，表示“自认为是；声称具备某种资格”，不能用不定式 to be。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
自命不凡；妄图伟大
He has pretensions to greatness, though his work is mediocre.
他自命不凡，尽管作品平庸。
不装腔作势；朴实无华
She speaks simply and without pretension.
她说话简单，毫不装腔作势。
附庸风雅；文化上的炫耀
The magazine is full of cultural pretensions.
这本杂志满是附庸风雅。
社会地位上的虚荣心；攀附上流
They moved to a richer neighborhood to satisfy their social pretensions.
他们搬到富人区以满足其社会地位上的虚荣心。
空洞的标榜；虚伪的声称
The regime's empty pretensions to democracy fooled no one.
该政权对民主的虚伪标榜骗不了任何人。
自称（具有某种身份或品质）；妄图
He has pretensions to being an intellectual, but he never reads books.
他自称为知识分子，但他从不读书。
不自称；不标榜
The book makes no pretensions to scholarly completeness.
这本书并不标榜学术上的完备性。
不装腔作势；朴实无华
She spoke about her achievements without pretension.
她谈到自己的成就时毫不装腔作势。
Use pretension naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
pretend（假装）+ tension（紧张）→ 记住：pretension 就是装腔作势、自命不凡。
语域：formal 常见场景：学术写作、文学评论、正式演讲 pretension 表示“声称/主张”时通常用于正式语境，多出现在学术写作或文学评论中；日常口语里更常用 claim 或 pretentiousness，单独使用 pretension 较少。
Often used in plural form 'pretensions' or with a dependent preposition.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.