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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
Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2026
And given the town’s ritzy reputation, shopping is world-class here.
—Chadner Navarro, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
Art Basel’s flagship fair in June is now all that stands between the art world elite and a summer in the Hamptons, Mallorca, and other ritzy destinations.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 27 May 2026
The conference didn’t exactly hide the message at the ritzy resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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