as in pomp
excessive or unnecessary display
the sheer ostentation of the rock star's mansion was overwhelming
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Recent Examples of ostentation
Never through excess or ostentation, but through quiet discipline — a meditative expression of grace.
—
Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
Their minimalist bottles and containers photograph beautifully, their price points signal exclusivity without screaming ostentation, and their international origins provide cultural cache.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 24 June 2025
As with Yamamoto-san’s suit, my comfort and pleasure would be the biggest factors here; there would be no room for ostentation.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
From the lake’s eastern shore, a lush green golf course bumps and rolls toward the swimming pool and fountains at the feet of the Hispano-Moresque mansion known as Mar-a-Lago, the historic hub of Palm Beach society, a gargantuan single-family home, a monument to ostentation.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostentation
Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
Their minimalist bottles and containers photograph beautifully, their price points signal exclusivity without screaming ostentation, and their international origins provide cultural cache.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 24 June 2025
As with Yamamoto-san’s suit, my comfort and pleasure would be the biggest factors here; there would be no room for ostentation.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
From the lake’s eastern shore, a lush green golf course bumps and rolls toward the swimming pool and fountains at the feet of the Hispano-Moresque mansion known as Mar-a-Lago, the historic hub of Palm Beach society, a gargantuan single-family home, a monument to ostentation.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostentation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostentation
Noun
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In his pomp, Worthington was recommending Karim Benzema before the world really knew about the Frenchman.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
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There, the music switches to distant, classical pomp and the actor takes a seat at a tidy press junket-style set.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This interplay underscored a broader theme: form itself can be a form of ornamentation.—
Essence,
Essence,
24 Sep. 2025
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Around her neck, a rope of heavy onyx beads provided practical ornamentation.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For now, the spectacle of Starlink satellites burning across the sky remains more of a visual phenomenon than a safety hazard.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
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And while the film may lean into the spectacle of explosions and chase scenes, its emotional core lies in the humanity Stanfield brings to the chaos.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Borrowing from the flamboyance of the New Romantics, the edginess of punks and the melancholic themes in their music, goth makeup was dark, vampiric, and vaguely dangerous—an aesthetic music fans copied when gathering at goth haunts like the Batcave in London.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
8 Oct. 2025
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Tonatiuh effortlessly glides between magnetic flamboyance and heart-wrenching vulnerability, and even outshines Lopez in their scenes together − one such moment occurs when the Spider Woman comes to Molina in prison, breaking the escapism for a memorable sequence.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Shortly after its dawn, dresses produced by Paris’ leading fashion houses, such as Poiret, Chanel and Lanvin, were envisaged with the same geometric, linear designs and intricate decorations that were characteristic of the revolutionary movement.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
11 Oct. 2025
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In the United States, Halloween ranks second in consumer spending on treats, gifts, and decorations, following Christmas.—
Jennifer Borresen,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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So why does the sight of her, bottle-blonde and clad in a green dress that screams vintage Dream Factory glitz, still give off such deflating Jenny-from-the-block vibes?—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
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The look channels the glitz and glamour of showgirl style, which is shaking out to be a major theme this year.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But then, what is art if not an attempt to tidy up the real world’s teeming luxuriance?—
Sebastian Smee,
Washington Post,
5 Dec. 2023
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The comic luxuriance of Roman references should not blind us to the significance of these constant appeals to the Roman Republic and to classical virtue.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2022
Noun
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Could mannish tailoring and ‘80s gaudiness be on their way out?—
Ari Stark,
Footwear News,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ostentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostentation. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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