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Synonym Chooser

How is the word ostentatious different from other adjectives like it?

The words pretentious and showy are common synonyms of ostentatious. While all three words mean "given to excessive outward display," ostentatious stresses vainglorious display or parade.

the ostentatious summer homes of the rich

When is it sensible to use pretentious instead of ostentatious?

The synonyms pretentious and ostentatious are sometimes interchangeable, but pretentious implies an appearance of importance not justified by the thing's value or the person's standing.

a pretentious parade of hard words

When could showy be used to replace ostentatious?

The words showy and ostentatious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, showy implies an imposing or striking appearance but usually suggests cheapness or poor taste.

the performers' showy costumes

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ostentatious The duo also went on an ostentatious spending spree in the immediate aftermath of their parents’ deaths, which damned them in the view of many. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024 His recent monograph, Peter Ivens - Houses (Luster), highlights how to create character in a home without being ostentatious. Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 20 Nov. 2024 Of clothing: not showy, ostentatious, or overly revealing. Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 14 Nov. 2024 Never flashy or ostentatious, these prewar buildings were elegant and discreet, clad in brick or limestone, with setbacks and terraces that afforded owners, especially those living near the top floors, private views of the sky above and the city below. David Netto, Curbed, 17 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ostentatious 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostentatious
Adjective
  • Viewers were able to see the smaller canine, the puppy, target the nonchalant golden retriever with a few loud barks, before the Saint Bernard arrived to interrupt the unwanted interaction.
    Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
  • There’s nothing worse than getting out into the wilderness, away from society, and then hearing somebody one campsite over start up a loud, smelly gas generator.
    Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Teamsters officials later complained that Harris, who would go on to lose all seven battleground states, was arrogant in her dealings with them.
    W. James Antle III, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Russia, Iran, and many other countries criticize U.S. military interventions as arrogant, ignorant of local context, and unable to fashion either stable regimes or effective security structures.
    Alexander Baunov, Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • His personal airplane, a noisy 727, is banned from takeoff and landing between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
  • The screen rolls out from underneath the keyboard, with a noisy motor taking a few seconds to turn the device into a laptop with a very tall display.
    Barry Collins, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • These were studied and, if not intentionally, were thought about as works of scale, as were the patterns on a butterfly wing, which are composed of millions of scales, grandiose designs developed over eons.
    Alexis Wright, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
  • In the grandiose world of splendor and affluence, possibilities are endless.
    Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • In December 2019, the Angolan Embassy hosted an extravagant event at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art to commemorate the 1619 anniversary.
    Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
  • Families who had given their sons and their future to the regime survived on bread and tea while Assad’s inner circle and other high officials flaunted their wealth on Instagram—luxury cars, seaside mansions, extravagant weddings.
    Loubna Mrie, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Some implied Hill was pretentious for citing Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese, and Taxi Driver as the film’s influences.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Like David, Danson appeared as a pretentious and smug version of himself on the beloved series.
    Esther Kang, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Chuy's is also known for its maximalist and gaudy interior design and atmosphere.
    Beck Andrew Salgado, Austin American-Statesman, 18 July 2024
  • They were hidden from Eliza by a palm made gaudy with orchids.
    Lauren Groff, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • The disapproval is exemplified by a pompous New Yorker interviewed on the street by young fans.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Bonneville, as the ineffectually pompous Mr. Brown, always gives the impression of having a whale of a time.
    Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Ostentatious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostentatious. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on ostentatious

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