Entry Word: tacky

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste <it was tacky to wear sneakers, but Traceyʼs dress shoes hurt her feet> <tacky plastic flowers>

Synonyms cheesy, dowdy, inelegant, styleless, tasteless, trashy, unfashionable, unstylish

Related Words inappropriate, incorrect, unbecoming, unseemly, unsuitable, wrong; outmoded, out-of-date, passé; coarse, crude, unrefined, vulgar; cheap, common, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, tawdry; gaudy, loud, ostentatious, overdone, showy, splashy

Near Antonyms appropriate, becoming, correct, fitting, proper, right, seemly, suitable; genteel, handsome, neat, quiet, refined, understated; contemporary, modern, up-to-date

Antonyms elegant, fashionable, modish, ritzy, smart, stylish, tasteful

2 showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect <a tacky old couch that needed new upholstery> — see shabby 1