ostentatious

Name: ostentatious, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs/

//ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“ostentatious” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,802. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,802
frequency rank, English: 1,431
“O” headwords: 17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of ostentation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ostentatious · ostentatious · English

ostentatious · rank #42,802 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #42,802
LEN-MEGA 12 letters
VOW-6 6 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 17 variants
BOOK-MID 1,431
PHOTO-FINISH osteopathic

Nearest frequency peer: osteopathic (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

occipital

57,202
ophthalmic

57,201
ostentatious

57,199
osteopathic

57,198
oversize

57,196
padlock

57,195

What this shows “ostentatious” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for ostentatious
Property	Value
Headword	ostentatious
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs/
Letters	12
Frequency rank	#42,802
Misspellings tracked	17
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ostentatious”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).ostentatiouslands here:

#42,802

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “osteopathic” (#42,803), “ophthalmic” (#42,800), “occipital” (#42,799). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ostentatious” is #42,802. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around ostentatious (IPA /ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #42,802 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for ostentatious, with forms such as "osetntatious", "osstentatious", and "ostenattious". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Originated 1590; from Latin ostentātus + -ious. The correct English form is ostentatious, spelled O-S-T-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-U-S.

Definition

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

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how ostentatious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

Over the course of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has drawn several “red lines” – with ostentatious references to Russia’s huge strategic nuclear arsenal – only to seemingly do nothing when these lines are crossed by Ukraine or its Western backers.

Etymology

Originated 1590; from Latin ostentātus + -ious.

Synonyms

gaudy pretentious

This word in other languages

ostentoso(Español)ostentatoire(Français)protzig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

osetntatious
osstentatious
ostenattious
ostenntatious
ostentaitous
ostentatiosu
ostentatiouss
ostentatiuos
ostentatoius
ostentattious
ostenttaious
ostenttatious
ostetnatious
ostnetatious
osttentatious
otsentatious
sotentatious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ostentatious - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "ostentatious"

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

How do you spell "ostentatious"?

"ostentatious" is spelled O-S-T-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs/.

What does "ostentatious" mean?

As an adjective, "ostentatious" means: Of ostentation.

What are common misspellings of "ostentatious"?

Common misspellings include "osetntatious", "osstentatious", "ostenattious", "ostenntatious", "ostentaitous". The correct spelling is "ostentatious".

How do you pronounce "ostentatious"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ostentatious" is /ˌɒs.tɛnˈteɪ.ʃəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "ostentatious"?

Originated 1590; from Latin ostentātus + -ious. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ostentatious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

perspiration#42,817 postcolonial#42,832 refreshingly#42,853 restaurateur#42,865

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

Northumbria17 variants logarithmic17 variants horseradish17 variants headmistress17 variants