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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
Nicole Trilivas, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Most of us have a similarly devastating firsthand experience, from the fires that tore through the ritziest parts of L.A. this year, and the smoke that wafted over New York’s wealthier and lower-income zip codes alike last year.
—Jeff Roth, New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2025
April 3, 2025 Located near Philadelphia's ritzy Rittenhouse Square, the elegant 162-year-old home was restored and renovated in 2019.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2025
That looks to be changing soon enough, however, with a big dinner party schedule for our ritzy guests.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ritzy
Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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