Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ostentation"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ostentation \Os`ten*ta"tion\, n. [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}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ostentation
n 1: a showy outward display [syn: {fanfare}]
2: lack of elegance as a consequence of pomposity [syn: {ostentatiousness},
{pomposity}, {pompousness}, {pretentiousness}, {splashiness}]
3: pretentious or showy or vulgar display
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