Get rid of your thesaurus, and let us really get to know you. Just don’t let formality, “overwriting,” or obsessively polishing your essays squeeze them completely dry of your voice, your playfulness, and your identity. (My colleague happens to love the word “azure.” He also points out that azure’s good friend “cerulean” is the name of a city in Pokémon-and you can’t go wrong with Pokémon.)
It also doesn’t mean that specific words, including those mentioned in this blog, are off-limits. That doesn’t mean your writing can’t make use of literary techniques, or read lyrically, or show off a good grasp of vocabulary. Natural is the doorway to our understanding of you and our appreciation of your story. My words wouldn’t sound natural.Īnd when you’re trying to communicate something important about who you are with the reader of your application, you want your words to sound natural. If I came up and told you that I had just sauntered homewards beneath an azure sky, you would probably be concerned for me, or think I had just returned from a stint at an archaic school for conversation and manners. I have never once sauntered homewards beneath an azure sky. But the cadence of your words and the perspective you bring to the page should be genuinely you. In essays that you’ve worked hard to write, you might come out sounding funnier, or more curious, or just plain cooler than you do in a typical conversation with your friends. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms. Sure, it can be a voice amplified by self-reflection. Definition of show-off2 noun in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. When it comes to college essays, we are trying to hear your voice. (Just humor me here and pretend that you do indeed own a print thesaurus that you keep in your desk drawer.) I say all of this so that you’ll take me seriously when I now tell you the following: As you prepare to write or finish writing your college essays, I want you to walk over to your desk, open your drawer, grab your thesaurus, and toss it out the nearest window. View American English definition of showoff. This is the British English definition of showoff. It taught me about the importance of sound and the meaning created by subtle variations in diction. DEFINITIONS 1 1 showing disapproval someone who tries to get attention and praise from other people by showing how clever they are Synonyms and related words Definition and synonyms of showoff from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education. I credit the thesaurus, in part, with my love of writing and my eventual English degree. Who would call the sky “blue” when you could call it “azure”? Blue was boring! I sauntered homewards beneath an azure sky. Watch a new, fancier sentence take shape: Then, hover your cursor above each of those words, right click for “thesaurus,” and a list unfolds. Type a sentence into Word-just any normal sentence, in the way that you would normally speak. But my favorite activity-what brought me back time and time again-was thesaurusing. I used it to write down my angsty thoughts, sure, and to see what sorts of illustrations ClipArt had to offer me. During the brief window of time each day when this clunky desktop computer belonged to me and my whims, I was devoted to Microsoft Word. " The Metropolitan Museum is exhibiting Goya's works this month" " Why don't you show your nice legs and wear shorter skirts?" " National leaders will have to display the highest skills of statesmanship"Įxhibit the strength of.A funny thing happened when my family got our first computer in the early 2000s. flash, flaunt, ostentate, show off, swankĭisplay proudly act ostentatiously or pretentiously. " a remarkably attractive young man" " an attractive personality" " attractive clothes" " a book with attractive illustrations"ġ. Pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm. Superficially attractive and stylish suggesting wealth or expense. " a colorful period of history" " a colorful character" " colorful language" (used especially of clothes) marked by conspicuous display. " a theatrical pose" " one of the most theatrical figures in public life"
Suited to or characteristic of the stage or theater. Intended to attract notice and impress others.
" a cheap showy rhinestone bracelet" " a splashy half-page ad" Someone who deliberately behaves in such a way as to attract. Marked by ostentation but often tasteless. Dictionary Binisaya to English English to Binisaya Sense