kitsch

noun

ˈkich 

1

: something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality

2

: a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition

teetering on the brink of kitsch

—Ron Miller

kitschy

ˈki-chē 

adjective

Did you know?

Kitsch is an early 20th-century borrowing from German, and it refers to things in the realm of popular culture that are tacky, like car mirror dice, plastic flamingos, and dashboard hula dancers.

Examples of kitsch in a Sentence

The restaurant is decorated with 1950s furniture and kitsch from old TV shows.

Recent Examples on the Web

The restaurant has retro flare and kitsch to spare, and some of the best pies in town, to boot. Beans & Barley 1901 E. North Ave. —Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 20 May 2024

The movie, in its totally kitsch way, frames itself as a thriller, with the competition to create the Pop-Tart likened to the race to the moon shot or the Manhattan Project. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

German

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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