garish

adjective

gar·​ish ˈger-ish 

1

: clothed in vivid colors

a garish clown

2

a

: excessively or disturbingly vivid

garish colors

garish imagery

b

: offensively or distressingly bright : glaring

3

: tastelessly showy : flashy

garish neon signs

garishly adverb

garishness noun

Synonyms of garish

• loud
• noisy
• gaudy

Choose the Right Synonym for garish

gaudy, tawdry, garish, flashy, meretricious mean vulgarly or cheaply showy.

gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.

a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

Examples of garish in a Sentence

the wedding guest's thick makeup was garish and unnecessary

Recent Examples on the Web

This has translated into freakishly unstable songs that spin from garish wubs and witch folk to lullaby-like purrs. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2025

Hedda is nothing if not a showcase for both the star and her director Nia DaCosta, with the latter setting the drama in 1950s English high society and giving everything a garish, gloriously over-the-top aesthetic that suggests Downton Abbey via Baz Luhrmann. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025

The movie has the color palette of a garish tricolored ice pop, a jumble of psychedelic turquoise blue and incandescent fuchsia. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Oct. 2025

Some have also characterized the undertaking — which is taking place amid the government shutdown — as a garish expression of personal vanity. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for garish

• bearish
• cherish
• farish
• perish
• squarish
• nightmarish

Kids Definition

garish

adjective

gar·​ish ˈga(ə)r-ish 

ˈge(ə)r-

: too bright or showy : gaudy

garishly adverb

garishness noun