ostentatious
adjUS /ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs/
Etymology Originated 1590; from Latin ostentātus + -ious.
1
Of ostentation.
2
Intended to attract notice.
- Over the course of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has drawn several “red lines” – with ostentatious references to Russia’s huge strategic nuclear arsenal – only to seemingly do nothing when these lines are crossed by Ukraine or its Western backers.2024 September 19, Fred Weir, “Why Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling on Ukraine sounds different this time”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
3
Of tawdry display; kitsch.
- Synonyms
- gaudy, pretentious
- Derived terms
- nonostentatious, ostentatiously, ostentatiousness, unostentatious
- Related terms
- ostensible, ostensive