ostentatious

[os-ten-tey-shuhs, -tuhn-]

adjective

1. characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others.

   an ostentatious dresser.

2. (of actions, manner, qualities exhibited, etc.) intended to attract notice.

   Lady Bountiful's ostentatious charity.

Other Word Forms

• ostentatiously adverb
• ostentatiousness noun
• unostentatious adjective
• unostentatiously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ostentatious¹

First recorded in 1650–60; ostentat(ion) + -ious

Synonym Study

See grandiose.

Example Sentences

Additionally, when food inflation and rising beef prices prevail, it’s hard to imagine that ostentatious couture would be at the top of consumers’ spending list.

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Today it’s hard to imagine the White House without the North Portico, but when it was added under Andrew Jackson, it was called costly and ostentatious, Mr. McLaurin writes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They saw what they considered to be ostentatious displays of wealth, including travels to London, France and the Dominican Republic and scenes of Side partying on a yacht in the Caribbean.

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Less exotic and certainly less ostentatious than the supercars, it nevertheless makes up more than half of the company's sales.

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The fish proceeds to carry out an ostentatious dance, flashing her scales in the hopes of attracting the poet’s attention and inspiring him to write about her.

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Related Words

• classy 
• conspicuous 
• extravagant 
• flamboyant 
• garish 
• gaudy 
• glittery 
• jaunty 
• splashy 
• swank