Ostentate

//ˈɒstənteɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make an ambitious display of; to exhibit or show boastingly. rare, transitive

    "It cannot avoid the brand of arrogancy, as well as hypocrisy, to challenge and ostentate that beauty or handsomeness of complexion as ours, which indeed is none of ours by any genuine right or property."

  2. 2
    display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously wordnet
  3. 3
    To boast, show off. intransitive, obsolete, rare

Synonyms

All synonyms
flauntshow offswankostentaura farmboulevardier

Example

More examples

"It cannot avoid the brand of arrogancy, as well as hypocrisy, to challenge and ostentate that beauty or handsomeness of complexion as ours, which indeed is none of ours by any genuine right or property."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ostentātus, perfect passive participle of ostentō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), intensive from ostendō. Doublet of ostent.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.