as in terrible
marked by low quality and unbecoming appearance
We tolerate the neighbors' tawdry Christmas display during the holidays, but by January we're about sick of it.
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Dissimilar Words
as in trumpery
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tawdry
Charlie Hobbs,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Mar. 2026
Recovery has scarcely begun, but insult is being added to fire victims’ injuries as local officials — especially Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — engage in a tawdry game of finger-pointing.
—
Dan Walters,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Jones envisioned the show as more light-hearted than those of her competitors, weaving comedy skits and bawdy humor in with the tawdry affairs of her guests.
—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
His license was not renewed after a rather tawdry incident in Newburyport last July 2.
—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Adjective
Shane, whose run in All Out at the Nederlander Theater ends March 8, took some time to show Condé Nast Traveler some of his favorite Manhattan haunts—from a five-star hotel to a tawdry nightclub to the first brow aesthetician that put him at ease.
—
Charlie Hobbs,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Mar. 2026
Recovery has scarcely begun, but insult is being added to fire victims’ injuries as local officials — especially Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — engage in a tawdry game of finger-pointing.
—
Dan Walters,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Jones envisioned the show as more light-hearted than those of her competitors, weaving comedy skits and bawdy humor in with the tawdry affairs of her guests.
—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
His license was not renewed after a rather tawdry incident in Newburyport last July 2.
—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tawdry
Adjective
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The production quality was terrible.
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But in May of 1943, a terrible fire burned his studio to the ground.
Noun
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What was the strategic benefit to the US of all this geopolitical trumpery?
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So will the border continue to vanish in the face of nativist backlash and a trumpery, gimcrack wall?
Adjective
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Rebecca Lowe joins Dan Patrick to discuss some of the top storylines around the World Cup, including Cristiano Ronaldo's poor play to start, the United States' potential and more.
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Will the gap between rural and urban America – and the gap between rich and poor America – decline or grow?
Noun
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This one from chef Yotam Ottolenghi is basic with no frippery to speak of.
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Source: Tolan Inside the fair, venders manned stalls selling sweets and giftable fripperies.
Adjective
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And Wilde’s couple is miserable in a way only Americans can be.
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Björck alone should make the Jets’ 2026 draft a win and help Jets fans move past the miserable season that led to the pick.
Noun
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My family saw plenty of dancing, impromptu music jams and people kitted out in their national finery.
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Hosts can load the table with fine china and florals indoors or out, and the major-commitment option asks guests to show up in tea-time finery, hats included.
Adjective
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To be fair, the DCEU, the preceding web of films, had nearly half of its movies land rotten scores.
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Big Red might be a braggart, a bully and rotten to the core, but Lasdun invokes Thomas De Quincey’s neat point about how a man’s capacity to rob says nothing about his propensity to murder.
Noun
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For many Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas, sitting out the foofaraw while the whole country conducts Christmas consumption is an annual dose of alienation.
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No foofaraw: Of course a cleric—in Chih’s case, one who belongs to a holy order tasked with traveling the land and collecting stories—wouldn’t concern themself with gender.
Cite this Entry
“Tawdry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tawdry. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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