MERETRICIOUS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Some common synonyms of meretricious are flashy , garish , gaudy , and tawdry . While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," 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 is it sensible to use 'flashy' instead of 'meretricious'?

The words flashy and meretricious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar. // a flashy nightclub act

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

While the synonyms garish and meretricious are close in meaning, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright. // garish neon signs

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

The words gaudy and meretricious can be used in similar contexts, but gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation. // circus performers in gaudy costumes

Q: When would 'tawdry' be a good substitute for 'meretricious'?

Although the words tawdry and meretricious have much in common, tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy. // tawdry saloons

meretricious

adjective

Definition of meretricious

as in conspicuous

formal + disapproving attractive in a cheap or false way meretricious beauty lacking in any real substance

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective meretricious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of meretricious are flashy, garish, gaudy, and tawdry. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," 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 is it sensible to use flashy instead of meretricious?

The words flashy and meretricious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

When could garish be used to replace meretricious?

While the synonyms garish and meretricious are close in meaning, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

Where would gaudy be a reasonable alternative to meretricious?

The words gaudy and meretricious can be used in similar contexts, but gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When would tawdry be a good substitute for meretricious?

Although the words tawdry and meretricious have much in common, 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 meretricious Denzel Washington stars as Macrinus, a meretricious arms dealer who own a stable of gladiators, while Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are brothers and ruling emperors. —Zoe Guy, Vulture, 1 July 2024 But as a character study, with Holocaust themes deepening the stakes of the domestic turmoil, the play holds up extremely well in its critique of a world that has lost its capacity for silence and that is prepared to sacrifice literature for meretricious distraction. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2024 The heads of banks, corporations, universities, law firms, foundations, and media companies were neither more nor less venal, meretricious, and greedy than their counterparts today. —George Packer, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2011

Recent Examples of Synonyms for meretricious

Adjective

The images are another apt reminder that many Middle Eastern countries are fairly discreet about their ballistic missile arsenals, with some conspicuous exceptions.

— Paul Iddon, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
In their new study, the SETI Institute astronomers focused on the remote detection of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, a conspicuous by-product of fossil-fuel burning.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 27 Feb. 2025