ostentatious

/ˈɑstənˌteɪʃəs/

/ɒstɛnˈteɪʃɪs/

Reach for the adjective ostentatious when you want a flashy way to say — well, "flashy" or "showy."

No one wants to be described as ostentatious, a word whose cousins include pretentious, flamboyant, and gaudy. It originates from the Latin word ostentare, "to display," but in English it's often used for displays of the crass or vulgar sort. A rapper's diamond-encrusted teeth might be an ostentatious display of "bling," and someone wailing especially loudly at a funeral of a distant acquaintance might be making an ostentatious show of sorrow.

Definitions of ostentatious

1. adjective

   intended to attract notice and impress others
   “an ostentatious sable coat”

   synonyms: pretentious

   flaunty

   inclined to flaunt

   flamboyant, showy, splashy

   marked by ostentation but often tasteless

   antonyms:

   unostentatious

   not ostentatious

   quiet, restrained

   not showy or obtrusive
2. adjective

   (of a display) tawdry or vulgar
   synonyms: pretentious

   tasteless

   lacking aesthetic or social taste