These words refer to persons or things that are conspicuous because of their vivid or garish physical make-up or because of some striking or vulgar manner of behaviour. Showy is a neutral term and may be used in either a complimentary or critical way. It can refer to a great or brilliant display, and in this sense may characterize such things as beauty, ability, technique, performance or achievement: a showy floral arrangement, done with originality and imagination; a pianist with a showy technique and a mastery of the romantic repertoire. In its pejorative sense, showy suggests a cheap display and is used to describe persons or things that in some way are offensive to good taste: a showy team of ballroom dancers whose performance was more gymnastic than graceful; the showy furniture chosen by someone whose knowledge of interior decoration was much more limited than her bank account.

Colourful may suggest an abundance of colour or colours, usually bright and vivid, often contrasting: a colourful bedspread that had been crocheted by her grandmother and which was so beautiful that she used it as a wall hanging. Colourful can also describe something that is picturesque and full of variety: a colourful account of life in Samoa. Finally, it can characterize a person who draws attention to himself by his striking, individualistic or even eccentric manner: my colourful , crotchety old grandfather; a colourful character actor whose off-stage life was as flamboyant as his style of acting.

Loud and ostentatious are more definitely pejorative in connotation than showy or colourful . Loud , in the sense being compared here, is synonymous with the critical meaning of showy . In reference to objects, it denotes flashiness and offensively bad taste: a loud sports shirt with clashing colours and a jarring pattern. When it describes a person or his behaviour, it suggests crudity and vulgarity: a loud , coarse businessman whose back-slapping jocularity of manner failed to hide his ruthlessness of purpose. Ostentatious is not as pejorative as loud , but is nonetheless critical in its depiction of vain pretence or uncalled-for exhibition. It suggests the over-elaborate, flashy display that fails to impress because of its very excess: an ostentatious copy of an English Tudor house that looked ridiculous in its outback setting.