ostentation
/ˌɒstənˈteɪʃən/
"ostentation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ostentation” is an uncommon English word, ranked #82,626 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #82,626
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ostentation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌɒstənˈteɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #82,626 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ostentation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ostentation is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɒstənˈteɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #82,626 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ostentation, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation and its etymon Latin ostentātiō, ostentātiōnem, equivalent to ostentātus (past participle of ostentāre, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to… The correct English form is ostentation, spelled O-S-T-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Ambitious display; vain show; display intended to excite admiration or applause.
- 2A show or spectacle.
Etymology
Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation and its etymon Latin ostentātiō, ostentātiōnem, equivalent to ostentātus (past participle of ostentāre, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to present, display”) + -iōn. By surface analysis, ostent + -ation.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ostentation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-S-T-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɒstənˈteɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.