making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction; "a pretentious country house"; "a pretentious fraud"; "a pretentious scholarly edition"
not liable to error in judgment or action; "most surefooted of the statesmen who dealt with the depression"- Walter Lippman; "demonstrates a surefooted storytelling talent"- Michiko Kakutani
having or marked by confidence or assurance; "a confident speaker"; "a confident reply"; "his manner is more confident these days"; "confident of fulfillment"
presumptuously arrogant; "had a witty but overweening manner"; "no idea how overweening he would be"- S.V.Benet; "getting a little uppity and needed to be slapped down"- NY Times
marked by repeated turns and bends; "a tortuous road up the mountain"; "winding roads are full of surprises"; "had to steer the car down a twisty track"