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Some common synonyms of tawdry<\/em> are flashy<\/em><\/a>, garish<\/em><\/a>, gaudy<\/em><\/a>, and meretricious<\/em><\/a>. While all these words mean \"vulgarly or cheaply showy,\" tawdry<\/em> applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.<\/p>

\/\/ tawdry<\/em> saloons<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is 'flashy' a more appropriate choice than 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

In some situations, the words flashy<\/em><\/a> and tawdry<\/em> are roughly equivalent. However, flashy<\/em> implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.<\/p>

\/\/ a flashy<\/em> nightclub act<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "In what contexts can 'garish' take the place of 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

The meanings of garish<\/em><\/a> and tawdry<\/em> largely overlap; however, garish<\/em> describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.<\/p>

\/\/ garish<\/em> neon signs<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is it sensible to use 'gaudy' instead of 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

While in some cases nearly identical to tawdry<\/em>, gaudy<\/em><\/a> implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.<\/p>

\/\/ circus performers in gaudy<\/em> costumes<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When would 'meretricious' be a good substitute for 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

The words meretricious<\/em><\/a> and tawdry<\/em> can be used in similar contexts, but meretricious<\/em> stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.<\/p>

\/\/ a meretricious<\/em> wasteland of casinos and bars<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does the adjective 'tawdry' contrast with its synonyms?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

Some common synonyms of tawdry<\/em> are flashy<\/em><\/a>, garish<\/em><\/a>, gaudy<\/em><\/a>, and meretricious<\/em><\/a>. While all these words mean \"vulgarly or cheaply showy,\" tawdry<\/em> applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.<\/p>

\/\/ tawdry<\/em> saloons<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is 'flashy' a more appropriate choice than 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

In some situations, the words flashy<\/em><\/a> and tawdry<\/em> are roughly equivalent. However, flashy<\/em> implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.<\/p>

\/\/ a flashy<\/em> nightclub act<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "In what contexts can 'garish' take the place of 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

The meanings of garish<\/em><\/a> and tawdry<\/em> largely overlap; however, garish<\/em> describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.<\/p>

\/\/ garish<\/em> neon signs<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is it sensible to use 'gaudy' instead of 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

While in some cases nearly identical to tawdry<\/em>, gaudy<\/em><\/a> implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.<\/p>

\/\/ circus performers in gaudy<\/em> costumes<\/p>" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When would 'meretricious' be a good substitute for 'tawdry'?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

The words meretricious<\/em><\/a> and tawdry<\/em> can be used in similar contexts, but meretricious<\/em> stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.<\/p>

\/\/ a meretricious<\/em> wasteland of casinos and bars<\/p>" } } ] }

tawdry 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of tawdrynext
as in terrible
marked by low quality and unbecoming appearance We tolerate the neighbors' tawdry Christmas display during the holidays, but by January we're about sick of it.

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Dissimilar Words

tawdry

2 of 2

noun

as in trumpery

Related Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective tawdry contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of tawdry are flashy, garish, gaudy, and meretricious. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

When is flashy a more appropriate choice than tawdry?

In some situations, the words flashy and tawdry are roughly equivalent. However, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

In what contexts can garish take the place of tawdry?

The meanings of garish and tawdry largely overlap; however, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

When is it sensible to use gaudy instead of tawdry?

While in some cases nearly identical to tawdry, gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When would meretricious be a good substitute for tawdry?

The words meretricious and tawdry can be used in similar contexts, but meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.

a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

How does the adjective tawdry contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of tawdry are flashy, garish, gaudy, and meretricious. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

When is flashy a more appropriate choice than tawdry?

In some situations, the words flashy and tawdry are roughly equivalent. However, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

In what contexts can garish take the place of tawdry?

The meanings of garish and tawdry largely overlap; however, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

When is it sensible to use gaudy instead of tawdry?

While in some cases nearly identical to tawdry, gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When would meretricious be a good substitute for tawdry?

The words meretricious and tawdry can be used in similar contexts, but meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.

a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tawdry
Adjective
Jones envisioned the show as more light-hearted than those of her competitors, weaving comedy skits and bawdy humor in with the tawdry affairs of her guests. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026 His license was not renewed after a rather tawdry incident in Newburyport last July 2. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 16 Jan. 2026 Soon enough, George realizes his wholesome American town has become Pottersville, a tawdry neon strip that looks like a 1940s fever dream of vice—all neon lights, garish bars, dancing girls, and desperation. —Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025 Even more intriguingly, the documentary turns her into an avatar for all things contemporary Las Vegas, embodying the real-life challenges experienced by real-life Las Vegas residents who exist with a tawdry version of glitz and glamour that’s on the horizon but not quite accessible. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tawdry
  1. terrible
  2. trumpery
  3. poor
  4. frippery
  5. miserable
  6. finery
  7. rotten
  8. foofaraw
Adjective
  • At that point, something terrible, something on the scale of the Maidan protests in Ukraine in 2014, is not inconceivable.
    — Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Between some horrendous screw-ups, terrible decision-making, and some plain old bad luck, their situation, and that of their mother, Linda Morelli (Laurie Metcalf), who is running for mayor, only gets worse.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of terrible
Noun
  • What was the strategic benefit to the US of all this geopolitical trumpery?
    — Peter Bergen, CNN, 28 May 2022
  • So will the border continue to vanish in the face of nativist backlash and a trumpery, gimcrack wall?
    — Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 25 June 2018
Definition of trumpery
Adjective
  • Arsenal were pretty poor but won, Sporting were pretty good but lost.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Ackman blamed its poor share price performance partly on the delay of UMG’s listing in the United States.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Definition of poor
Noun
  • This one from chef Yotam Ottolenghi is basic with no frippery to speak of.
    — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Source: Tolan Inside the fair, venders manned stalls selling sweets and giftable fripperies.
    — Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of frippery
Adjective
  • Oil prices are once again surging in the wake of war in the Middle East, driving up the cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and threatening a return to stagflation — the toxic mix of higher prices and slower growth that made economic life so miserable a half-century ago.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026
  • That miserable scoring drought that Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier was mired in earlier all of a sudden seems like a distant memory.
    — Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2026
Definition of miserable
Noun
  • The event at the Casa Alta Vista Estate on Mount Soledad brought together filmmakers, patrons and others from the San Diego area, many in their red-carpet finery.
    — La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Models dressed in Marie Antoinette-style Rococo finery with a Glastonbury grunge twist at Harris Reed’s festive fall show for Nina Ricci.
    — Kevin Huynh, InStyle, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of finery
Adjective
  • Dahl’s books are fanciful and imaginative, but also dark, cynical, and mean (and, unfortunately, often reflected his real-life ugliness), spinning stories in which gruesome and unpleasant fates befell rotten kids, and adults were frequently selfish, cruel, and not to be trusted.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Repair Or Replace Damaged Parts Replace any boards or beams that are structurally damaged, cracked or split, rotten, or severely splintered.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of rotten
Noun
  • For many Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas, sitting out the foofaraw while the whole country conducts Christmas consumption is an annual dose of alienation.
    — Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 23 Nov. 2020
  • No foofaraw: Of course a cleric—in Chih’s case, one who belongs to a holy order tasked with traveling the land and collecting stories—wouldn’t concern themself with gender.
    — WIRED Staff, Wired, 29 Sep. 2020
Definition of foofaraw

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Tawdry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tawdry. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of tawdry for Spanish Speakers

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