After scanning CE for interesting words for over two years I have been impressed with the level of intelligence of many of the people that post regularly. Sometimes an interesting word stands out, and other times it takes a while to find something that can be considered interesting. Considering the source it is not unusual to have a word that was used as a word of the day previously. At times the word of the day is found in an article that is quoted or other quoted source. If you see an interesting word being used on CE please mention me in the topic.
If you want to post in this topic, try to use the word of the day in a sentence.
Ostentatious comes from a Latin word meaning "display," and the idea of display is still very apparent in the English word as it is currently used.
People and things described as ostentatious seem to have put themselves on display; they are practically begging to be looked at. The word is not compliment.
Ostentatious is often applied to buildings that can also be described as luxuriousmansions, fancy high-rises, huge houses with marble columns. Sometimes the description appears in the negative, as when we're told that a house is large, but not ostentatious, which means that it's large but not in a way that calls attention to itself. When the word is applied to objects like clothes and jewelry, the idea is the same: such items attract attention for the luxury they imply.
People who are described as ostentatiousor who have lifestyles described as suchtypically are seen as spending money in a way that makes it clear that they have a lot of it. Their consumption may also be described with the word, in which case the emphasis is on the impressive things they buy.
Less often, ostentatious is applied to what attracts attention not because of an implied luxury but because of some other quality. Someone's boastful declarations about volunteer work may be described, for example, as ostentatious.
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Some are wise, some are otherwise, and I have my moments.