different between tawdry vs meretricious
tawdry
English
Etymology
Shortened from tawdry lace; originally a corruption of Saint Audrey lace (from Old English Æþelþryþ). The lace necklaces sold to pilgrims to Saint Audrey fell out of fashion in the 17th century, and so tawdry was reinterpreted as meaning “cheap” or “vulgar”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?t??d?i/
Noun
tawdry (uncountable)
- (obsolete) Tawdry lace. [17th c.]
- (obsolete) Anything gaudy and cheap; pretentious finery. [17th–19th c.]
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 65:
- That fiddling, parading fellow (you know who I mean) made us wait for him two hours […] only for the sake of having a little more tawdry upon his housings […].
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 65:
Adjective
tawdry (comparative tawdrier, superlative tawdriest)
- (of clothing, appearance, etc.) Cheap and gaudy; showy.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:gaudy
- 1890, Knut Hamsen, Sult (Hunger), Part One, at p.34 (Canongate Books Ltd. 2016 paperback edition, Sverre Lyngstad 1996 translation):
- This wasn't really a room for me; the green curtains before the windows were rather tawdry, and there was anything but an abundance of nails on the walls for hanging one's wardrobe.
- (of character, behavior, situations, etc.) Unseemly, base, shameful.
- Synonym: sordid
Translations
Further reading
- tawdry at OneLook Dictionary Search
tawdry From the web:
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meretricious
English
Etymology
From Latin meretr?cius, from meretr?x (“harlot, prostitute”), from mere? (“earn, deserve, merit”) (English merit) + -tr?x (“(female agent)”) (English -trix).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?m????t????s/, /?m????t????s/
- Rhymes: -???s
Adjective
meretricious (comparative more meretricious, superlative most meretricious)
- Tastelessly gaudy; superficially attractive but having in reality no value or substance; falsely alluring.
- 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p. 164:
- When I lifted my eyes from the page, there was none of the meretricious argument London always offers that the sole real purpose in life is to hustle for a buck.
- 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p. 164:
- (law) Involving unlawful sexual connection or lack of consent by at least one party (said of a romantic relationship).
- (obsolete) Of, or relating to prostitutes or prostitution.
Synonyms
- (tastelessly showy): brassy, cheap, flashy, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, tacky, tatty, tawdry, trashy
Related terms
- merit (see also: merit: related terms)
Translations
meretricious From the web:
- meretricious meaning
- meretricious what does it mean
- what does meretricious persiflage mean
- what does meretricious mean in the great gatsby
- what do meretricious mean
- meaning of meretricious ornamentation
- what does meretricious mean in law
- what is meretricious services
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