1
as in cutting up
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
the athletes warmed up, happily showing off for the crowd before the match officially started
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in displaying
to present so as to invite notice or attention
she just wants to show off her new jewelry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of showing off
In the years since Boogie Nights, Leo has made an unlikely hit out of The Man in the Iron Mask, then took the role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, showing off his range and turning that surreal and often horrifying movie into another $100 million feather in his cap.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
This Friday the 13th, showing off your tats can get you some free lunch.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
On March 2—one day before debuting her new pageboy bob at Paris Fashion Week—Hadid made her grand entrance in a pair of straight-leg jeans that stop well above the ankle, showing off much of her beige crew sock and the entire tongue of her black loafers.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 7 Mar. 2026
Nadella wrote in an October X post showing off the abiltiy to toggle between Anthropic and OpenAI models in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026
And right now, Echinus is showing off.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 4 Mar. 2026
Prior to departing on Friday looking for points in 12 consecutive regular-season away games dating to last year, LAFC looked sharp in training, showing off the depth of its squad during short-field drills requiring quick decisions and ball movement.
—Josh Gross, Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
The clip continues with Rihanna decking out an umbrella with sparkles and faux fur before bedazzling a pair of jeans, then wraps with Riot showing off the finished costume.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
Many of these hobbyists are showing off their finds on social media.
—Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
This Friday the 13th, showing off your tats can get you some free lunch.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
On March 2—one day before debuting her new pageboy bob at Paris Fashion Week—Hadid made her grand entrance in a pair of straight-leg jeans that stop well above the ankle, showing off much of her beige crew sock and the entire tongue of her black loafers.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 7 Mar. 2026
Nadella wrote in an October X post showing off the abiltiy to toggle between Anthropic and OpenAI models in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026
And right now, Echinus is showing off.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 4 Mar. 2026
Prior to departing on Friday looking for points in 12 consecutive regular-season away games dating to last year, LAFC looked sharp in training, showing off the depth of its squad during short-field drills requiring quick decisions and ball movement.
—Josh Gross, Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
The clip continues with Rihanna decking out an umbrella with sparkles and faux fur before bedazzling a pair of jeans, then wraps with Riot showing off the finished costume.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
Many of these hobbyists are showing off their finds on social media.
—Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for showing off
Verb
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Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Meredith is cutting up with the other ladies at the spa, without a care in the world.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
-
Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Together, these allow the panel to hold electrical charge for longer, reducing the need to use power to refresh the screen when displaying static images.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
28 Mar. 2026
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Furthermore, Pepper can also show information directly on his screen – for instance, displaying QR codes from websites when asked about local tourist attractions – giving visitors multiple ways to access helpful details.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Bevel was horsing around with the Reverend James Orange and Andy Young in the courtyard under King's balcony, according to Orange.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
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In April 2020, Iglesias shared a video of him horsing around with Lucy and Nicholas as the pair attempted to climb on his back for a ride.—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The bank also reduced its overall equity allocation to neutral, citing a broad set of negative macro signals now flashing caution.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
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So when an octopus starts flashing colors and twitching in its sleep, the parallels are hard to ignore.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The group cites studies showing that many retailers do not pass on the full amount of the gas tax reduction to consumers.—
Matthew Daly,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
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Numinous plein-air compositions, showing the patients around the institution’s grounds, assert the irresistible force of nature.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The black flies are not the only troublesome creature acting up during the unseasonably warm weather.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
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Intel’s representative explained that the Intel team has pushed this to extremes in testing—their vPro team even challenged each other, successfully, to try to access a troubled machine that was acting up on a flight, over airplane Wi-Fi!—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At that point, Leigh also reportedly began exhibiting erratic behavior.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Jacobs is a real find as Matt, exhibiting a touch of honesty and authenticity that matches his co-star’s in every way.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Showing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/showing%20off. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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