FANCY-PANTS Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

fancy-pants

adjective

Definition of fancy-pants

as in pretentious

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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

But others have slammed the effort as a pretentious and obnoxious slog.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Leigh feared the tracks might be too arch, too pretentious, too insincere.

— Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of pretentious

Adjective

In this seduction, in a text that manages to be both grandiose and intimate, Rice works the mysterious alchemy of creating permanence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
The prosecution said Bakker had diverted millions of dollars to pay for his and Tammy Faye’s grandiose lifestyle.

— Tim Funk, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of grandiose

Adjective

Instead, just enjoy the whacking of the pompous, the powerful and parents — that’s what Stone and Parker do.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
Symptoms include baby fever, exacerbated by the pregnancy announcement of her sister Macy (Zosia Mamet), and an intolerance to her pompous, long-term but non-committal boyfriend Spencer (Finn Wittrock).

— Katie Walsh, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of pompous

Adjective

The unions cited concerns including job security, affordable health care, and wages that meet New York City’s inflated cost of living.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
All these geopolitical variables put a partial freeze on energy dealmaking—potential sellers ask for more money on inflated valuations, while the buyers think longer term and conservatively.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of inflated

Adjective

This animation uses infrared imagery which depicts the most intense thunderstorms near the center of Isaias in purple and white.

— Kate S. Petersen, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
On the ground, bike riders and hikers pass prairie plants and native grasses laden with early fall seed — little blue stem, yellow prairie grass, goldenrod, whorled milkweed, purple cone flower, common milkweed, coreopsis and others.

— Susan DeGrane, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of purple

Adjective

And John Hancock’s grand, ornate signature on the Declaration of Independence became so famous that his name is now a term for signatures in general.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
On Thursday morning the ornate marble lobby of the New York Stock Exchange in lower Manhattan was turned into a museum of Hollywood history.

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of ornate

Adjective

Overrun with puzzling plot points, several cameos and a bloated supporting cast, the series fails to stick the landing.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
With this potential even more poisonous investments in the bloated and indebted Paramount behemoth, there’s even more reason to reject it.

— Abigail Disney, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 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

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fancy-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy-pants. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of fancy-pants

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

inscrutable

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes