“pretensions” is a form of
pretension
noun, verb
Forms pretensions pretensioning pretensioned prætension
- noun A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality.
- noun Pretentiousness.
- verb To apply tension to an object before some other event or process.
- verb (construction) To apply tension to reinforcing strands before concrete is poured in.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English pretencioun, pretensioun, from Medieval Latin prētēnsiō.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of pretending, or laying claim; the act of asserting right or title.
- noun 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.
Etymology [Cf. F. prétention. See Pretend, Tension.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pretension”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details