Both Uses of
pretentious
in
City of Bones
- "Get the hell off me, you pretentious asshole," the intruder snarled, shoving at Jace.†
Chpt 8 *pretentious = attempting to act more impressive than is deserved
- "Of course," he said, without arrogance or pretension, "but I always thought that was the way things were, with us.†
Chpt 16pretension = acting more impressive than is deserved
Definitions:
-
(1)
(pretentious) acting more impressive than is deserved
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely, the word form, pretension, can mean to apply tension to something before an event--as when a seat belt is pretensioned so it will be snug prior to use in an accident.