showy

[shoh-ee]

adjective

showier, showiest 

1. making an imposing display.

   showy flowers.

2. pompous; ostentatious; gaudy.

   Synonyms: loud
   Antonyms: humble

showy

/ ˈʃəʊɪ /

adjective

1. gaudy, flashy, or ostentatious

2. making a brilliant or imposing display

Other Word Forms

• unshowy adjective
• showiness noun
• showily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of showy¹

First recorded in 1705–15; show + -y ¹

Synonym Study

See gaudy ¹, grandiose.

Example Sentences

At the same time, the show reminds us of the showy excesses of the period, and that artists’ embrace of them rarely paid off.

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Everything in that seemingly spur-of-the-moment scene would have had to have been carefully arranged, which is why it comes off as clumsily showy rather than truly delightful.

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They’re expectedly less showy and more mature, capable of competing with those by European masters.

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Playing her sister, Ms. Lilleaas has a less showy part with a broader range, and her Agnes turns out to be a bridge across the family chasm in an especially powerful late scene.

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Yes: Alcaraz is the faster, showier player, capable of mad sprints to pull out improbable winners, but Sinner’s developed real range.

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Related Words

• classy 
• garish 
• gaudy 
• ornate 
• ostentatious 
• pretentious 
• sensational 
• splashy