ostentation

noun

os·ten·ta·tion ˌä-stən-ˈtā-shən

: excessive display : vain and unnecessary show especially for the purpose of attracting attention, admiration, or envy : pretentiousness

She dresses stylishly without ostentation.

an aesthetic preference for function over ostentation—

Wendell Garrett

their ostentation of new wealth and their prodigality with it—

Mark Sullivan

archaic : an act of displaying

Examples of ostentation in a Sentence

The actress avoids ostentation. She owns a small house and drives an inexpensive car. He writes simply and clearly and without ostentation.

Recent Examples on the Web The room is opulent, but without ostentation, featuring artworks from local creatives like Darby Milbrath. —

Kyle Beechey, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2023 Where Elliot leans into ostentation, Beverly demures. —

Vulture, 4 May 2023 Sunday afternoon at Walt Disney Concert Hall, his arm movements lacked ostentation and could barely be seen from behind. —

Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2023 While the Airpods Max, by contrast, please in their smack-dab ostentation. —

André-Naquian Wheeler, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2023 The Oscars are supposed to be a night for unabashed, cheesy ostentation! —

Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023 Bullseye air vents return but have been flattened at the top and bottom, and metal speaker grilles contribute to an atmosphere of calculated ostentation. —

Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 16 May 2022 In the weird and cultish world of credit card ostentation, AmEx remains the ultimate status symbol. —

Jennifer Surane, Bloomberg.com, 13 Dec. 2022 Not since Lady Gaga in her early days of stardom has an artist so fully taken advantage of the music video as a receptacle for camp, comedy, social commentary, and ostentation. —

Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ostentation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.