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César Ritz (1850-1918) earned worldwide renown for the luxurious hotels bearing his name in London and Paris. (The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is a contemporary descendant of these enterprises.) Although they were by no means the first to cater to high-end clients, Ritz’s hotels quickly earned reputations as symbols of opulence. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer who often focused on the fashionably wealthy, titled one of his short stories “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” and the phrase “to put on the ritz” means “to indulge in ostentatious display.” The adjective ritzy, describing either something fancy or stylish, or the haughty attitudes of the wealthy elite, first checked into the English language in 1919.
Examples of ritzy in a Sentence
Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 14 Mar. 2025
Known as the Forty—it’s located at North 40 Place in the ritzy North Forty enclave—the $25 million mansion is relatively new, dating back to just 2009.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2025
It’s tucked away in the hills—far above the neon signs of Sunset Boulevard and the ritzy shops of Rodeo Drive—and the outdoor entrance takes you by a serene lake where swans swim by.
—Vogue, 27 Feb. 2025
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry reportedly are called local villains by neighbors of the ritzy California town the couple fled to after leaving their royal roles behind.
—Lauryn Overhultz, Fox News, 19 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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