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conspicuous consumption

noun

Etymology

Coined by American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in 1899.

Definitions

  1. A public display of acquisition of possessions with the intention of gaining social…

    A public display of acquisition of possessions with the intention of gaining social prestige; excessive consumerism in order to flaunt one's purchasing power.

    • Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.
    • "Conspicuous consumption" is a proof of economic success.
    • Professional humanists . . . resent Veblen's saying that knowing an ancient language is conspicuous consumption and conspicuous waste, like growing your fingernails long and painting them, or keeping a Pekingese.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for conspicuous consumption. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA