見(み)せびらかす

みせびらかす
verb (godan, transitive)
to show off; to flaunt; to display proudly
他動詞 transitiveaction
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present見(み)せびらかす見(み)せびらかさない
Present polite見(み)せびらかします見(み)せびらかしません
Past見(み)せびらかした見(み)せびらかさなかった
Past polite見(み)せびらかしました見(み)せびらかしませんでした
て form見(み)せびらかして見(み)せびらかさなくて
ている present見(み)せびらかしている見(み)せびらかしていない
ている polite見(み)せびらかしています見(み)せびらかしていません
ている past見(み)せびらかしていた見(み)せびらかしていなかった
ている past polite見(み)せびらかしていました見(み)せびらかしていませんでした
Conditional ば見(み)せびらかせば見(み)せびらかさなければ
Conditional たら見(み)せびらかしたら見(み)せびらかさなかったら
Volitional見(み)せびらかそう—
Volitional polite見(み)せびらかしましょう—
Potential見(み)せびらかせる見(み)せびらかせない
Passive見(み)せびらかされる見(み)せびらかされない
Causative見(み)せびらかさせる見(み)せびらかさせない
Imperative見(み)せびらかせ見(み)せびらかすな
1. to show off; to flaunt
To display something conspicuously to impress others, often with a sense of boasting.
新(あたら)しい車(くるま)を見(み)せびらかしている。
He's showing off his new car.
It's tacky to show off luxury brands on social media.
Flaunting your knowledge makes people dislike you.
The child was showing off the new toy to friends.
He was showing off his overseas travel photos to everyone and bragging.

Forms

Built on 見(み)せる (to show) plus the bound element びらかす, which contributes the idea of spreading something out for others to look at. びらかす does not occur as a word on its own.

Register

Always unflattering. The speaker is criticising the display rather than admiring what is displayed — the word carries vanity, boastfulness, and indifference to how the audience feels. Speakers use it of their own behaviour only self-deprecatingly.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 自慢(じまん)する is boasting in words; 見(み)せびらかす is boasting by putting the thing itself in front of people.
  • 誇(ほこ)る is neutral to positive — to be proud of something that genuinely merits pride.
  • 見栄(みえ) is the vanity that motivates the behaviour, the noun a speaker reaches for when explaining why someone shows off.