How to Use ostentation in a Sentence

ostentation

noun
  • He writes simply and clearly and without ostentation.
  • The actress avoids ostentation. She owns a small house and drives an inexpensive car.
  • There had been signs of ostentation creep before the Leonardo sale.
    — James Atlas, Town & Country, 8 Feb. 2018
  • For all the ostentation, for all the millions spent, this was a day for all generations and all people.
    — Aimee Lewis, CNN, 19 May 2018
  • The Oscars are supposed to be a night for unabashed, cheesy ostentation!
    — Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023
  • While the Airpods Max, by contrast, please in their smack-dab ostentation.
    — André-Naquian Wheeler, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2023
  • Young leads a life notorious among the 49ers for its lack of ostentation.
    — Johnny Miller, SFChronicle.com, 12 July 2018
  • For the Puccis, the ease of their getaway house more than compensates for its lack of ostentation.
    — Ingrid Abramovitch, ELLE Decor, 4 Aug. 2022
  • Paint did not get off to such a good start in the New World, where the Puritans frowned on ostentation.
    — Adam Seessel, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2019
  • Next comes must-have mob wife ostentation in the form of diamonds, pearls, and other gems placed atop the polish for maximum glam.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 26 Jan. 2024
  • But ostentation, in the words of that old American clergyman, is the signal flag of hypocrisy.
    — John Hirschauer, National Review, 25 Sep. 2019
  • Our narrator writes with playful ostentation about subjects that demand it.
    — Katy Waldman, Slate Magazine, 31 May 2017
  • Quite often, those investments include yachts and jets, some of which are marvels of luxury and ostentation.
    — Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2021
  • There is leisure, by some assumed to be the basis of culture, by others to be a form of ostentation, not at all to be associated with culture.
    — Marilynne Robinson, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019
  • In the weird and cultish world of credit card ostentation, AmEx remains the ultimate status symbol.
    — Jennifer Surane, Bloomberg.com, 13 Dec. 2022
  • Once upon a time, horseless carriages were a luxury item, crafted from the finest of materials to wrap an owner in wealth and ostentation.
    — Jack Stewart, Wired News, 11 Mar. 2018
  • This is not a musician, in other words, who opts for theatrical, audience-pleasing ostentation.
    — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 27 Jan. 2018
  • There was no pretense or ostentation here, no fancy finger work for its own sake, just jazz standards dispatched simply and directly, with very little fuss and a great deal of warmth.
    — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 23 June 2017
  • The interiors are relatively forgettable but in a town marked by ostentation, the crowd counts for more than the surroundings.
    — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 19 May 2022
  • Though it may be overstated, ostentation is part of what makes the genre a culturally distinct global phenomenon.
    — Julian Randall, Essence, 24 May 2024
  • His personal life, well-chronicled by gossip columnists, was one of extravagance and ostentation punctured by tragedy.
    — Alan Cowell, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2020
  • Bullseye air vents return but have been flattened at the top and bottom, and metal speaker grilles contribute to an atmosphere of calculated ostentation.
    — Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 16 May 2022
  • Never through excess or ostentation, but through quiet discipline — a meditative expression of grace.
    — Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
  • While Hand of God shimmered with the director’s memories of his youth, the deeply personal nature and intimacy of that film are drowned here by ostentation.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
  • So, like any sneaker that cranks itself to 11 on the ostentation scale, these Raf x Adidas sneakers fit best with wide-leg trousers that can stand up to all that extra real estate on your feet.
    — Jake Woolf, GQ, 7 Mar. 2018
  • Sunday afternoon at Walt Disney Concert Hall, his arm movements lacked ostentation and could barely be seen from behind.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Formula 1 has Monaco, with its ostentation and air of exclusivity.
    — Jonathan Hawkins, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
  • For my wife, who is not a sports fan and grew up in Indiana, the discordant ostentation offered a note of inclusiveness in an otherwise severe and insular sporting culture.
    — Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2019
  • The Sun King inherited his flair for ostentation from his Medici great-grandmother, Catherine.
    — Caroline Weber, Town & Country, 30 Oct. 2022
  • Instead of Mbappé holding up his end of the bargain, this is about the club’s ostentation—an insistence on having the glossiest players in the world, and, on this occasion, losing sight of what matters most.
    — Henry Flynn, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ostentation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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