different between kitsch vs campy

English

Etymology

From German Kitsch, from dialectal kitschen (“to coat, to smear”), the word and concept were popularized in the 1930s by several critics who contrasted it with avant garde art.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: k?ch, IPA^(key): /k?t?/
• Rhymes: -?t?

Noun

kitsch (usually uncountable, plural kitsches)

1. Art, decorative objects and other forms of representation of questionable artistic or aesthetic value; a representation that is excessively sentimental, overdone, or vulgar.
   • 1939, Clement Greenberg, "Avant Garde and Kitsch", The Partisan Review,

     Because it can be turned out mechanically, kitsch has become an integral part of our productive system in a way in which true culture could never be, except accidentally.

Synonyms

• camp

Derived terms

• kitschy
• extremokitsch

Translations

Adjective

kitsch (comparative kitscher or more kitsch, superlative kitschest or most kitsch)

1. Of art and decor: of questionable aesthetic value; excessively sentimental, overdone or vulgar.
   • 1989, Graham Greene, Yours etc: Letters to the Press 1945-1989, ?ISBN, p. 243,

     […] a picture of lemur-eyed children of the sort one sees in the kitscher sort of Italian restaurant […]

   • 1996, Robert Silberman, "The stuff of art: Judy Onofrio", American Craft, Jun/Jul 1996, pp. 40-45,

     Abe Lincoln, Paul Bunyan and kitsch souvenir coconut heads come across as icons of masculinity.

   • 2005, Ronald Frame, "Critical Paranoia", Michigan Quarterly Review, Spring 2005, p. 285,

     I recognized her at once even though she wasn't wearing the tweed hunting outfit and the kitsch headwear.

Usage notes

• Although the forms kitscher and kitschest are attested, those formed on kitschy are more common, particularly for the comparative.

Synonyms

• corny

Translations

Anagrams

• schtik, shtick, skitch, thicks

French

Alternative forms

• kitch

Pronunciation

Noun

kitsch m (uncountable)

1. kitsch

Adjective

kitsch (invariable)

1. kitsch

Further reading

• “kitsch” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kit??/

Adjective

kitsch (invariable)

1. kitsch

   Synonym: pacchiano

Noun

kitsch m (uncountable)

1. kitsch

Further reading

• kitsch in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Adjective

kitsch (plural kitsch, comparable)

1. kitsch; kitschy (of questionable aesthetic value)

Noun

kitsch m (uncountable)

1. kitsch (art of questionable aesthetic value)

Further reading

• “kitsch” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

From German Kitsch

Noun

kitsch n (plural kitschuri)

1. kitsch

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Noun

kitsch m (uncountable)

1. kitsch

Adjective

kitsch (invariable)

1. kitschy

   Synonyms: cursi, hortera

Further reading

• “kitsch” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Kitsch.

Pronunciation

• (Sweden) IPA^(key): /k?t?/

Noun

kitsch c (uncountable)

1. kitsch

Derived terms

• kitschig

Further reading

• kitsch in Svensk ordbok.

English

Etymology

From camp (“an affected or exaggerated style”) +? -y.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?kæmpi/

Adjective

campy (comparative campier, superlative campiest)

1. Characterized by camp or kitsch, especially when deliberate or intentional.

   Stu liked to watch campy B-movie horror flicks from the 1950s, not because they scared him, but because he found them funny.

Synonyms

• (characterized by camp or kitsch): camp, corny, hammy, silly, tawdry, vulgar

Derived terms

• uncampy