ostentativus

Ostentativus is a Latin adjective meaning showy or ostentatious, used to describe things intended to attract notice, admiration, or regard. It conveys a sense of display that prioritizes signaling or impression over practical function.

Etymology and form: The term is built from the verb ostentare, meaning to display, with the adjectival suffix -ivus. The related noun ostentatio denotes ostentation. In Latin, ostentativus would appear with the usual endings for a second-declension adjective: masculine ostentativus, feminine ostentativa, neuter ostentativum.

Usage: The word is relatively rare in classical Latin, but when employed, it tends to modify actions, performances, or objects that are designed to impress an audience. In rhetorical or narrative contexts, ostentativus can describe gestures, attire, or structures as deliberately conspicuous, rather than practical. In modern scholarship, ostentativus is chiefly discussed as a linguistic example of the -ivus suffix and as a translation of the English “ostentatious,” rather than as a commonly encountered term in primary Latin texts.

See also: ostentation, ostentatious, ostentare, ostentatio.