Ostentatiously

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner intended to impress others through excessive or conspicuous display of wealth, knowledge, or achievements
2. in a deliberately showy and attention-seeking way designed to impress others with one's possessions or accomplishments
3. through exaggerated and obvious exhibition meant to draw admiration or provoke envy from observers

Etymology: The ending of this adverb is older and more surprising than the word it is attached to. The suffix "-ly" descends from Old English "-līċe", which came from the same Germanic stem as "līc", meaning body or outward form. That is also the root of the modern word "like", which once carried that sense of physical shape. So an adverb ending in "-ly" was originally a word saying the action was done in the manner or appearance of its base word. The base, "ostentatious", is an adjective built on Latin "ostentare", meaning "to display" or "to show repeatedly", a frequentative form of "ostendere", "to show or hold out". The "-ly" was added to turn that adjective into a description of how something is done. Here the manner is one of deliberate display, aimed at being noticed and admired.

Synonyms: showily, flamboyantly, pretentiously, extravagantly, theatrically

Antonyms: modestly, subdued, discreetly, unassumingly, humbly