Showily

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner characterized by conspicuous display and flair, often aimed at impressing onlookers or drawing attention to oneself
2. With a tendency to flaunt style or beauty in an extravagant way, ensuring a noticeable presence or effect
3. Done in a way that attracts attention through elaborate or flashy style

Etymology: Showily is a straightforward formation: the adverb "showy" with the suffix "-ly" attached. The adjective "showy" is itself built from "show" with the suffix "-y," which gives it the sense of being full of show, meaning striking or ostentatious in appearance. The adverb simply describes doing something in that manner. The ending "-ly" has a longer ancestry than the word it sits on. It traces back through Old English "-līċe" and the Proto-Germanic "*-līkaz," a root meaning "body" or "form," which is why the suffix came to mean "in the manner of" or "having the appearance of." Adding it to an adjective produces an adverb, so "showy" becomes "showily" and describes the way an action is carried out.

Synonyms: ostentatiously, flamboyantly, extravagantly, theatrically, gaudily

Antonyms: modestly, subtly, humble, unpretentiously, discreetly