Pretentiousness is the quality of being pretentious — the show of being more important, intelligent, or high-class than you are. You can talk about the pretentiousness of a speech, a building, a wine list, a whole scene. It names the air around the thing: the trying-too-hard, the false shine. Though actually, this noun is a little heavier and more formal than the adjective. In speech, people often skip it and just say “it’s so pretentious” or “what an act.” Pretentiousness belongs more to essays, reviews, and complaints written down. It still is not rare; you will meet it. It is always a criticism. There is no friendly way to admire someone’s pretentiousness, unless you are being funny on purpose.

裝腔作勢、自命不凡、做作