different between colourful vs ostentatious

English

Adjective

colourful (comparative more colourful, superlative most colourful)

1. Britain standard spelling of colorful.
   • 1895, The Annual of the British School at Athens

     It was a colourful vase with red and white hoops on the lid, and red bands above and below the main frieze. These bands also carry a metope pattern in white of triple lines and blobs, which can just be distinguished on the photographs.

   • 1895, H. Walter Staner and Henry Sturmey, The Autocar

     One of the most colourful people in motor racing, he writes in a colourful manner.

   • 2002, news.bbc.co.uk

     Hussain celebrated reaching his ton with a gesture towards the media centre, pointing to the number three on the back of his shirt and offering some colourful language.

English

Etymology

Originated 1650–60; ostentation +? -ious.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??s.t?n?te?.??s/, /??s.t?n?te?.??s/
• Rhymes: -e???s

Adjective

ostentatious (comparative more ostentatious, superlative most ostentatious)

1. Of ostentation.
2. Intended to attract notice.
3. Of tawdry display; kitsch.

Synonyms

• (tawdry): Thesaurus:gaudy

Derived terms

• ostensible
• ostensive

Translations

References

• “ostentatious”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• “ostentatious” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "ostentatious" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.