FANCY-PANTS Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

fancy-pants

adjective

Definition of fancy-pants

as in pretentious

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Example Sentences

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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

Breaking down the song of the summer debate Music reviewers on social media are, more often than not, pretentious snobs who take themselves too seriously, but Mic The Snare is a welcome change of pace.

— Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
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

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

These include, but are not limited to, contracts granted at inflated costs to Bastien Baudoin, the head of the consultancy firm Tyrex Conseil, and the company Ludoparc, for the building of a children’s playground.

— Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
But Puck’s inflated branding has, over time, come to look almost prophetic.

— Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of inflated

Adjective

Lavender Lavender is a popular garden perennial for its pleasantly calming fragrance and profuse purple blooms.

— Alexandra Jones, The Spruce, 30 Aug. 2026
Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix have teams, but those states aren’t reliably red, more purple.

— Patricia Babcock McGraw OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of purple

Adjective

That afternoon, the president, inside the exposition’s ornate Temple of Music, greeted members of the public, shaking hands and warmly inviting them to explore the fair.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Marrow Deep at times feels turbulent, ornate, measured, chaotic, and cathartic.

— Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of ornate

Adjective

Covering all bases is not easy, nor is making it to the latter stages of cup competitions, given how bloated the squads are among those clubs at the top of the Premier League.

— Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Analysts demand radical action against surging Chinese competition and its bloated 14-brand portfolio.

— Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of bloated

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 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fancy-pants

adjective

Example Sentences

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