ostentation

English

Etymology

Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation, from Latin ostentātiō, ostentātiōnem, equivalent to ostentātus (past participle of ostentāre, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to present, display”) + -iōn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɒstənˈteɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

ostentation (usually uncountable, plural ostentations)

1. Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause.
2. (obsolete) A show or spectacle.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4 Scene 1

     Let her awhile be secretly kept in,

     And publish it that she is dead indeed:

     Maintain a mourning ostentation;

Synonyms

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}} to add them to the appropriate sense(s).

• parade
• pageantry
• show
• showiness
• pomp
• pompousness
• vaunting
• boasting
• See also Thesaurus:arrogance

Related terms

• ostentatious
• ostensive
• ostensible

Translations

display of excessive show in an attempt to impress others

• Czech: okázalost f
• Dutch: aanstellerij (nl),uitsloverij (nl)
• Finnish: näytös (fi), näytelmä (fi)
• French: ostentation (fr) f
• Galician: ostentación (gl) f
• German: Zurschaustellung (de) f, Schaustellung f, Pomp (de) m, Prahlerei (de) f

• Greek: επίδειξη (el) f (epídeixi)
• Hungarian: kérkedés (hu)
• Maori: hahakitanga
• Romanian: ostentație (ro) f
• Russian: показное проявле́ние (pokaznoje projavlénije), хвастовство (ru) n (xvastovstvo), выставление напоказ (vystavlenije napokaz), рисовка (ru) f (risovka) (dated), помпа (ru) f (pompa)

show or spectacle

• Dutch: show (nl), spektakel (nl)
• Finnish: näytös (fi)
• French: spectacle (fr) m

• German: Schau (de) f, Spektakel (de) n
• Greek: θέαμα (el) n (théama)
• Russian: демонстра́ция (ru) f (demonstrácija)

Further reading

• ostentation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ostentation in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

References

• “ostentation” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “ostentation” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "ostentation" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.