Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ostentation
Osˊten-ta′tion
,Noun.
[L.
ostentatio
: cf. F. ostentation
.] 1.
The act of ostentating or of making an ambitious display; unnecessary show; pretentious parade; – usually in a detractive sense.
“Much ostentation vain of fleshly arm.” Milton.
He knew that good and bountiful minds were sometimes inclined to
ostentation
. Atterbury.
2.
A show or spectacle.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Syn. – Parade; pageantry; show; pomp; pompousness; vaunting; boasting. See
Parade
. Webster 1828 Edition
Ostentation
OSTENTA'TION
,Noun.
1.
Outward show or appearance.2.
Ambitious display; vain show; display of any thing dictated by vanity, or intended to invite praise or flattery. Ostentation of endowments is made by boasting or self-commendation. Ostentation often appears in works of art and sometimes in acts of charity.He knew that good and bountiful minds are sometimes inclined to ostentation.
The painter is to make no ostentation of the means by which he strikes the imagination.
3.
A show or spectacle. [Not used.]Definition 2024
ostentation
ostentation
English
Noun
ostentation (usually uncountable, plural ostentations)
- Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause.
- (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;
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4 Scene 1
Synonyms
Related terms
Translations
display of excessive show in an attempt to impress others
show or spectacle
External links
- 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, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
- “ostentation” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- "ostentation" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.