Affectationist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who consciously adopts behaviors or traits to create a false impression often demonstrates a lack of authenticity in their actions
2. A person who engages in exaggerated expression or pretense to impress others usually does so at the expense of genuine self-representation
3. A person who deliberately displays insincere behaviors or traits in order to appear more impressive typically lacks true authenticity in their interactions

Etymology: "Affectationist" is a plain English formation: the noun "affectation" with the agent suffix "-ist" added, meaning a person who practises affectation. The base noun, "affectation," comes from Latin "affectatio," a striving after something, from "affectare," to aim at or aspire to, and it entered English in the 1500s with the sense of pretending to have qualities one lacks. The suffix "-ist" comes from Greek "-istēs," used to name people who practise or follow something, as in "artist" or "dentist." Attaching it to "affectation" produces a label for someone who makes a habit of that pretence, so the word simply describes a person defined by their affectation rather than the behaviour itself.