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ostentation

[ os-ten-tey-shuhn, -tuhn- ]
/ ˌɒs tɛnˈteɪ ʃən, -tən- /
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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

  1. ostensive,
  2. ostensive definition,
  3. ostensively,
  4. ostensorium,
  5. ostensory,
  6. ostentatious,
  7. osteo-,
  8. osteoanagenesis,
  9. osteoarthritis,
  10. 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
Related formsnon·os·ten·ta·tion, noun

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

British Dictionary definitions 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

Word Origin and History for ostentation

ostentation

n.

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