INDEX:
1. to behave in a way that makes other people notice you
2. someone who shows off
3. behaving in a way that makes people notice you
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ MODEST
see also
↑ BOAST
↑ PROUD
↑ SHOW
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1. to behave in a way that makes other people notice you
▷ show off /ˌʃəʊ ˈɒf/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to keep doing things and saying things in order to show people how clever you are, how brave or strong you are etc - use this especially when you disapprove of this behaviour :
▪ He doesn’t usually drive as fast as this. He’s just showing off because you’re here.
▪ Billy, please stop showing off and sit down quietly!
show off in front of somebody
▪ I think he was trying to show off in front of the girls.
show off to somebody
British
▪ We used to wear as much make-up as we dared, in order to show off to our friends.
▷ strut your stuff /ˌstrʌt jɔːʳ ˈstʌf/ [verb phrase] informal
to do something that you do well, usually in a way that shows you are proud of yourself :
▪ We watched the sixteen year olds strutting their stuff on the dance floor.
▪ He likes to strut his stuff on the stage in the annual Shakespeare production.
2. someone who shows off
▷ show-off /ˈʃəʊ ɒf/ [countable noun]
someone who is always doing or saying things in order to make other people admire them - use this especially when you disapprove of this behaviour :
▪ Dave can be a real show-off at times.
▪ You have to be a bit of a show-off to be an actor.
▷ exhibitionist /ˌeksɪˈbɪʃ ə nəst, ˌeksəˈbɪʃ ə nəst/ [countable noun]
someone who publicly behaves in a way in which most people would usually only behave in private, in order to attract attention :
▪ I’ve always liked singing for an audience -- I guess I’m just an exhibitionist.
▪ Most of the dresses in the show are unwearable, unless you’re an exhibitionist.
▷ poser /ˈpəʊzəʳ/ [countable noun] British spoken
someone who behaves in a way that they think will make them seem clever, fashionable, or well-educated, even when they are not - used especially humorously :
▪ Did you hear him going on about his Porsches? What a poser!
3. behaving in a way that makes people notice you
▷ flamboyant /flæmˈbɔɪənt/ [adjective]
someone who is flamboyant behaves, performs, or dresses in an extremely confident, and often unusual way that makes other people notice them :
▪ He is one of football’s most flamboyant characters.
▪ a flamboyant French businessman
▪ a young woman in flamboyant clothes
▷ dramatic /drəˈmætɪk/ [adjective only before noun]
if you do something in a dramatic way, you do it in a loud or noticeable way that is intended to get people’s attention :
▪ She raised her hands in a dramatic gesture of despair.
▪ Rumpole produced the evidence with a dramatic flourish.
▪ Rosa made a dramatic entrance into the room, wearing a tiny red dress.
▷ ostentatious /ˌɒstənˈteɪʃəsǁˌɑː-/ [adjective]
doing things or buying things only in order to show people that you have a lot of money or because you want them to admire you or be jealous of you :
▪ I thought of framing the letter, but that would be ostentatious.
▪ They built themselves huge, ostentatious houses.
ostentatiously [adverb]
▪ The women were ostentatiously dressed in designer evening dresses.
▷ flashy /ˈflæʃi/ [adjective]
someone who is flashy likes to show off about how much money or how many expensive things they have - use this when you do not approve of someone who does this :
▪ a flashy young businessman
▷ pretentious /prɪˈtenʃəs/ [adjective]
doing something in a way that is intended to show how artistic or well-educated you are, in order to make people admire you - used to show disapproval :
▪ I found Susie unbearably pretentious.
▪ He has a pretentious style of writing, using four very difficult words where one simple one would do.
pretentiousness [uncountable noun]
▪ I can’t bear pretentiousness of any kind.
pretentiously [adverb]
▪ I bought some cheese in a small shop which rather pretentiously called itself a delicatessen.