show implies no more than enabling another to see or examine.
showed her snapshots to the whole group
exhibit stresses putting forward prominently or openly.
exhibit paintings at a gallery
display emphasizes putting in a position where others may see to advantage.
display sale items
expose suggests bringing forth from concealment and displaying.
sought to expose the hypocrisy of the town fathers
parade implies an ostentatious or arrogant displaying.
parading their piety for all to see
flaunt suggests a shameless, boastful, often offensive parading.
nouveaux riches flaunting their wealth
Example Sentences
Verb Students displayed their projects at the science fair. Toys were displayed in the store window. Her awards are prominently displayed on the mantel. The museum displays relics found during the excavation of the site. He displayed no emotion when I told him the news. I was impressed by the care she displayed in making the flower arrangements. The rookie player displayed great skill. The company has displayed exceptional dedication to this community. Noun The library's current display features locally made crafts. Her trophies are in a display case. The celebration ended with a spectacular fireworks display. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Though such information is available to all state boards through a national database, New Hampshire's medical board chooses not to display doctors' settlements on its website.BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2022 Just as their fellow nominees have all made shrewd moves in entering the international market, SB19’s new single is their time to display the group’s global-pop vision. Jeff Benjamin, Billboard, 7 Sep. 2022 The final pitch Waldichuk threw in his second major-league start served to display a strength — his fastball with good life — and remind that a late-season promotion will test him. Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Sep. 2022 Needless to say, despite showing flashes of talent, Horton-Tucker had yet to display any kind of consistent development or the requisite role-player skills the Lakers need. Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022 Zendaya Coleman and Tom Holland continue to display their love for one another! Shafiq Najib, Peoplemag, 3 Sep. 2022 Planned as a neoclassical shrine to Flemish art in general and Rubens in particular, the museum had as its centerpiece a nearly 50-foot-high gallery designed to display enormous 17th-century altarpieces by the Flemish master. J.s. Marcus, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2022 But when workers are free to display their allegiances, union insignia can help shepherd collective bargaining efforts to victory. Sarah Todd, Quartz, 1 Sep. 2022 The superintendent added that students are welcome to display flags during clubs like the Gay-Straight Alliance, which still are running in the district.al, 31 Aug. 2022
Noun
At the same time, her modus operandi was founded on a principle not of display but of concealment. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2022 The waiver was in regard to the display that previously featured flags that have flown over Fort Smith since 1699. Stephen Simpson, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2022 Plus—to the iPhone 14 base version along with the 6.1-inch display. Tim Higgins, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 That letter, along with ten other of the author’s unpublished correspondences, are on display for the first time at the Charles Dickens Museum in London and online. Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2022 Besides high-wattage stars, politics will also be on display for the paparazzi. Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Aug. 2022 The playmakers were on display for Montgomery Catholic in Friday night’s 61-7 win over Alabama Christian. Wesley Lyle, al, 26 Aug. 2022 Still, Hope kept coming on the show, his frailties on full display for the national TV audience. Richard Zoglin, Peoplemag, 22 Aug. 2022 Today, the distrust that women, particularly women of color, have long faced is now on full display for anyone who can get pregnant. Mary Ziegler, CNN, 16 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English desplaien, displaien, displeien "to unfurl (a banner), spread (the arms), reveal, expound," borrowed from Anglo-French despleier, desplaier, desploier, deplaier "to unfurl, set out to view, reveal, expound" (continental Old French desploier), probably from des-dis- + pleier, ploier "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3
Note: Compare deploy. Older references see this verb as an outcome of Latin displicāre, attested in the classical corpus only in Varro's Res rusticae, where it appears to mean "scatter, disperse." In Late Latin, the verb appears once in the sense "explain, expound" in the sermons of Gregory the Great on the book of Ezekiel. Apparent cognates outside Gallo-Romance are probably of secondary origin: Italian dispiegare "to spread out, deploy" may be a derivative of spiegare "to unfold, explain," perhaps modeled on Old French desploier (spiegare itself and synonymous Engadine Romansh splajer are from Latin explicāre—see explicate); and Spanish desplegar "to spread, open out" appears to be a learned formation.