ostentation
[ os-ten-tey-shuhn, -tuhn- ]
/ ˌɒs tɛnˈteɪ ʃən, -tən- /
noun
pretentious or conspicuous show, as of wealth or importance; display intended to impress others.
Archaic. the act of showing or exhibiting; display.
RELATED WORDS
parade, show, pretension, spectacle, affectation, array, demonstration, splurge, swank, boasting, flash, exhibition, vainglory, swagger, braggadocio, pomp, fuss, bravado, pomposity, magnificence
Nearby words
- ostensive,
- ostensive definition,
- ostensively,
- ostensorium,
- ostensory,
- ostentatious,
- osteo-,
- osteoanagenesis,
- osteoarthritis,
- osteoarthropathy
Origin of ostentation
1425–75; late Middle English ostentacioun < Middle French ostentation < Latin ostentātiōn- (stem of ostentātiō), equivalent to ostentāt(us) past participle of ostentāre to display, exhibit, frequentative of ostendere to present, display (equivalent to os-, var of ob- ob- + ten(dere) to stretch + -t- frequentative suffix + -ātus -ate1) + -iōn- -ion
Synonym study
1. See show.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ostentation
ostentation
/ (ˌɒstɛnˈteɪʃən) /
noun
pretentious, showy, or vulgar display
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ostentation
mid-15c., from Old French ostentacion (mid-14c.) and directly from Latin ostentationem (nominative ostentatio) "showing, exhibition, vain display," noun of action from past participle stem of ostentare "to display," frequentative of ostendere "to show" (see ostensible).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper