Wiktionary

showy

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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show +‎ -y

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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showy (comparative showier, superlative showiest)

  1. (sometimes derogatory) Calling attention; flashy; standing out to the eye.
  2. Making a striking or aesthetically pleasing display.
    showy flowers
  3. (informal, chiefly of a literary work) Inclined to showing (by conveying an impression so that events are described in the narrative), instead of telling (by explicitly stating facts).
    Antonym: telly
    • 1999 November 21, sophie, “Squealer : first revision”, in alt.arts.poetry.comments‎[1] (Usenet):
      I think my problem with it is that it's
      a) a little "telly" not "showy" in comparison to the rest […]
    • 2003 September 19, Patrick Null, “Failed Sept Challenge? (1409 words)”, in alt.fiction.original‎[2] (Usenet):
      There's a way to make this more showy and less telly. It's like you're in a hurry to get on with the rest of the story.
    • 2009 May 18, @kimmcgowan, Twitter‎[3], archived from the original on 2024-07-18:
      story is too, too telly; need at least 3 showy scenes to improve showing:telling ratio
    • 2016 February 12, Kelly, “Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo”, in Diva Booknerd‎[4], archived from the original on 2024-07-18:
      Six of Crows is very telly and little showy. You are constantly getting info dumps and mini-flashbacks to the characters past.
    • 2024 July 1, pinkjamie, “Well...”, in BookishFirst‎[5], archived from the original on 2024-07-18:
      The ending felt rushed to me, and I wish it would have been more showy and less telly.

Synonyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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