affectation

Definitions

Behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress.

A studied display of real or pretended feeling.

Examples

His British accent was a transparent affectation he adopted to sound more sophisticated.

She dropped her affectation of indifference and finally admitted how much the news had upset her.

Synonyms

pretension artificiality posturing mannerism pretense showiness insincerity

Antonyms

naturalness sincerity authenticity genuineness honesty artlessness simplicity