FANCY-PANTS Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

fancy-pants

adjective

Definition of fancy-pants

as in pretentious

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fancy-pants To my surprise and delight, what came out of the blender was a fancy-pants chocolate mousse that could be served at any chic Brooklyn bistro. — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 June 2026 Hotel-wise, the best place to be is either Kinloch Lodge, for belt-loosening cuisine and sing-worthy service, or Flodigarry Hotel, an off-compass outpost with a fancy-pants design bar and suites that wouldn’t look out of place in the Maldives. — Mike MacEacheran, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2025 Partridge was dressed in classic English fancy-pants style, while Rodrigo embraced the vintage preppiness inherent to gingham. — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 2 July 2025 The surprise of Clover Hill is not that this sort of food is on offer in an outer borough—with its concentration of zillion-dollar brownstones and fancy-pants residents, Brooklyn Heights isn’t exactly salt of the earth. — Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fancy-pants

Adjective

By applying a jammy, near-Baduist flow to the sequencing, Zay can cogently dissect 10 ideas in one three-minute song without sounding crowded or, worse, pretentious.

— Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 29 July 2026
The Majestic espouses a traditional luxury hotel style without feeling stuffy or pretentious.

— Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Definition of pretentious

Adjective

The city is grandiose enough that there are even ways for filmmakers to put their own spin on its more conventional sights and sounds.

— Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Serra’s immersive event, a rapture of colors and shadows, pays fittingly grandiose tribute to an emissary of a legendary cinematic era.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of grandiose

Adjective

Does little Arabella care about going to another stuffy awards dinner with her pompous dad?

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 July 2026
Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Definition of pompous

Adjective

But Puck’s inflated branding has, over time, come to look almost prophetic.

— Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026
Instead of negotiating discounts off hospitals’ inflated list prices, Montana’s health plan started paying percentages of what Medicare paid for all services.

— Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of inflated

Adjective

The market is waking up to this fact, which is why SMH (in purple below) is starting to recover.

— Michael Foster, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Ahmad grew up in Kashmir, a region in India’s northwest abutting the Himalayas, replete with vast valleys, glassy mountain lakes, and purple iris and cyan forget-me-nots.

— Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of purple

Adjective

Instead of the ornate porcelain and cloisonné enameling often associated with imperial vases, this one is made of blown glass.

— Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
By 1988, when Phantom debuted on Broadway, the Reagan-era consumer culture and flashy opulence were on their way out, so the ornate, maximalist sets and the lush orchestrations felt off-key to reviewers.

— Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of ornate

Adjective

Staffers are unfailingly warm and helpful, while never seeming stiff or stilted.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 June 2026
Tensions between Rian and Patrick flare when Rian drunkenly mentions a brief fling with Shiv, though the film’s clunky edit, which gives little room for the performances to breathe and play out organically within their contexts, makes these frictions feel stilted and juvenile.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026

Definition of stilted

Browse Nearby Words

fancy men

fancy-pants

fancy up

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“Fancy-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy-pants. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of fancy-pants

adjective

Example Sentences

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