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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

Example 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 aesthetic is contemporary African; more grounded than glamourous, more connected to the landscape than ostentatious. Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025 London’s theft of a horse became part of a larger narrative of being flashy, ostentatious, too smart for his own good. Bitter Kalli august 19, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025 The affair led to two marriages for the couple, 11 films, and an ostentatious jet-setting lifestyle that involved furs, jewelry, yachts, and glamorous travel. Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025 Either way, The Lowdown finds Harjo dipping into pleasantly familiar reservoirs of fiction in which the protagonists know how to take a constant beating, the malefactors are all suspiciously verbose and ostentatious hats abound. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for ostentatious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostentatious
Adjective
  • McIlroy received the loudest cheers of the day as his eagle shot dropped in on the par 5.
    Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
  • And instead of Mulder talking about his fond memories playing for the A’s in Oakland, a loud and repeating beep echoed through the public address system.
    Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Zane played the arrogant Cal Hockley, who was engaged to Jack's love interest, Rose (played by Kate Winslet).
    Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Hardly seems like enough to cow these arrogant companies into behaving, especially when their business model is so intrinsically tied to hoovering up other people’s information and creative work.
    James Folta, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Just a 10-minute stroll from the city center, the elevation affords something akin to a retreat; Bolaño feels spirited away from the noisy streets, surrounded instead by humming cicadas and chirping birds.
    Keith Flanagan, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 2025
  • In the vast and noisy Southern Ocean, such predictability may be the key to helping rivals or potential mates recognize an individual voice across miles of ice and water.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • This grandiose opera house in Guangzhou—an hour northwest of Hong Kong by train—opened in 2010 using the plans for the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales, which was never built.
    Mae Hamilton, AFAR Media, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The monumental, symmetrical building had a grandiose entrance mimicking the front of the Greek temple, and the glass and iron dome at the structure’s center was erected using the latest construction techniques.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • During the Edwardian period and early 20th century, luxury fur coats, full-length wraps, stoles, and extravagant collars were at the height of fashion—as much a symbol of wealth as any jewel.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The spread is a rare offering in the Gopher State, where such extravagant homes don’t hit the market all that often.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Their pretentious vocabulary is what’s keeping progressives from connecting with everyday Americans, according to a memo prepared by a left-leaning think tank and aimed at helping Democrats regain their common touch.
    Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
  • For him, the only way to tell those stories without being pretentious is to wrap them in insanity.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • That gaudy slash line is almost solely responsible for Alcántara being the September call-up over top outfield prospect Owen Caissie.
    Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
  • In many of these suburbs, the prevalence of tearing down perfectly sound old single-family homes in order to build often-gaudy new structures has led to proposals to incentivize keeping more of the old housing stock, using tax breaks and other means.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Guigal’s strategy isn’t built on pompous conservatism, but in long-term thinking.
    Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Louis Partridge will take on the scheming Mr Wickham, with Jamie Demetriou playing the pompous Mr Collins, Daryl McCormack as Jane’s beloved Mr Bingley, Siena Kelly as his sister Caroline and Shaw as the fearsome Lady Catherine de Bourg.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ostentatious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostentatious. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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