BharatNotes Ostentatious
adjectiveUsage in a UPSC answer
A welfare state must guard against ostentatious tokenism, where lavishly inaugurated schemes serve more to burnish the image of the ruling dispensation than to deliver measurable relief to the marginalised.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
ostentatiously (adv), ostentation (n), ostentatiousness (n), ostentate (v, rare)
Root
Latin ob- = towards; tendere = to stretch → ostentare = to display; -ious = adjectival suffix
Etymology
From Latin ostentare 'to display, show off' (frequentative of ostendere 'to show', from ob- 'towards' + tendere 'to stretch'), via the stem ostentat- plus the suffix -ious; first attested in English in the 1590s.
Memory Hook
Root link: Latin "ostendere" = "to show" (think "OST-ENTATIOUS" -> "ostend / extend to view"). Picture someone who must OSTEND (show off) everything they own.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Describes display intended to impress, and it is a sharp word for GS1 society and GS4 ethics. Its analytical use in Indian sociology is conspicuous consumption at weddings and festivals, where expenditure signals status rather than meeting need. Because it implies vulgar excess, it passes judgement, so deploy it where the argument is precisely about display for status.
Don’t Confuse It With
Ostentatious means showily displayed to impress. Lavish is generous or abundant without necessarily seeking an audience. Opulent describes wealth and richness in itself. Conspicuous consumption is the technical sociological term for spending whose purpose is to be seen.
Hindi Meaning
दिखावटी (dikhāvatī) or आडंबरपूर्ण (ādambarpūrn).
Common Questions
- What does ostentatious mean?
- Characterised by showy display intended to impress others.
- What is conspicuous consumption?
- Spending on goods and display whose main purpose is to signal wealth or status to others rather than to meet a need.
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