GARISH Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'garish' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of garish are flashy , gaudy , meretricious , and tawdry . While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright. // garish neon signs

Q: When might 'flashy' be a better fit than 'garish'?

While the synonyms flashy and garish are close in meaning, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar. // a flashy nightclub act

Q: Where would 'gaudy' be a reasonable alternative to 'garish'?

The meanings of gaudy and garish largely overlap; however, gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation. // circus performers in gaudy costumes

Q: When can 'meretricious' be used instead of 'garish'?

Although the words meretricious and garish have much in common, meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise. // a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

Q: When could 'tawdry' be used to replace 'garish'?

While in some cases nearly identical to garish , tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy. // tawdry saloons

garish

adjective

ˈger-ish

Definition of garish next

as in loud

excessively showy the wedding guest's thick makeup was garish and unnecessary

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective garish contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of garish are flashy, gaudy, meretricious, and tawdry. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

When might flashy be a better fit than garish?

While the synonyms flashy and garish are close in meaning, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

Where would gaudy be a reasonable alternative to garish?

The meanings of gaudy and garish largely overlap; however, gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When can meretricious be used instead of garish?

Although the words meretricious and garish have much in common, meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.

a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

When could tawdry be used to replace garish?

While in some cases nearly identical to garish, tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

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 garish Her public identity was forged in the era of velour sweats and garish trucker hats. —

Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024 Sure, part two of Emily in Paris season four dropped in September, but Collins broke away from her character’s delightfully garish aesthetic—which is mostly delightful in limited, 10-episode doses—well before that press tour, starting with her dramatic chop in June. —

Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 2 Dec. 2024 Despite their somewhat garish appearance, the hotels’ design reflects their function. —

Oscar Holland, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024 Watch on Max Scream The meta horror movie to end all other meta horror movies, the original Scream might have outgrown some of its more garish fashions (most of them worn by Courteney Cox’s Gayle Weathers), but the story is still solid. —

Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for garish

Recent Examples of Synonyms for garish

Adjective

Roger Goodell Taylor Swift breaks his record for loudest boos received at a Super Bowl. 13.

— Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 10 Feb. 2025
Also garnering a Grammy and Peabody, the show centered on a gifted teen trying to come of age in a chaotic household full of loud and oft-dimwitted grown-ups and siblings.

— Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 10 Feb. 2025