pretentiousness

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

pretentiousness
    n 1: lack of elegance as a consequence of being pompous and
         puffed up with vanity [syn: {ostentation},
         {ostentatiousness}, {pomposity}, {pompousness},
         {pretentiousness}, {puffiness}, {splashiness}, {inflation}]
    2: the quality of being pretentious (behaving or speaking in
       such a manner as to create a false appearance of great
       importance or worth) [syn: {pretentiousness}, {pretension},
       {largeness}] [ant: {unpretentiousness}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Pretentious \Pre*ten"tious\, a. [Cf. F. pr['e]tentieux. See
   {Pretend}.]
   Full of pretension; disposed to lay claim to more than is
   one's; presuming; assuming. -- {Pre*ten"tious*ly}, adv. --
   {Pre*ten"tious*ness}, n.
   [1913 Webster]