adjective
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gaudy, flashy, or ostentatious
-
making a brilliant or imposing display
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- showily adverb
- showiness noun
- unshowy adjective
Etymology
Origin of showy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But that ego-removing message never quite reached the Met’s showy music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
They succeeded — this musical is an underrated gem — but its Luna’s less showy performance that truly winds up stealing your heart.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
"He was not showy and maybe that was to the detriment of his legacy but I hope people will start to recognise him a little more than maybe he has been so far."
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026
Cooking the fish “en papillote” makes for a showy presentation, but is actually a breeze to do.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026
They were all outfitted with showy uniforms that looked like costumes from an operetta, but he was unable to make them wear shoes, because they were accustomed to going barefoot and could not adjust.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.