Definition of GAUDINESS

Other Words from gaudy

Adjective

gaudily \ ˈgȯ-də-lē

, ˈgä- \ adverb

gaudiness \ ˈgȯ-dē-nəs

, ˈgä- \ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for gaudy

Adjective

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 gaudy in a Sentence

Adjective

The showgirls wore gaudy costumes. They bought the house for a gaudy sum.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Instead of the dark green stone, low ceilings and gaudy brass that previously covered the lobby areas, decorative glass panels, white marble and soaring windows open the building up to the surrounding water gardens. — Steve Brown, Dallas News, "Downtown Dallas' landmark Fountain Place tower sports a new look inside," 12 July 2019 Her confrontationally oversized clothes, her projections of slithering insects and gaudy sports cars and black bloody tears weren’t meant to shock, but rather to envelop the room in a mood. — August Brown, latimes.com, "Billie Eilish, music’s biggest anti-pop star, returns home a hero," 10 July 2019 The Flagstaff retiree doesn’t want beaches or gaudy getaways from the family. — Andrew Nicla, AZCentral.com, "Late hours, no pay, diminishing returns: Scouring the Arizona desert for black-footed ferrets," 10 July 2019 Carolina: the sacred figure behind the gaudy tapestry of my public life. — Mary Gaitskill, The New Yorker, "This Is Pleasure," 8 July 2019 But older generations will hold on to the gaudy bag for weeks, eating it a couple handfuls at a time until the twist-tie has worn out. — Dami Lee, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Yakult, ramen or Asian pears: What does your H Mart purchase say about you?," 1 July 2019 Biggio has the counting-stat upside to be a special fantasy player, and the plate discipline to put up a gaudy OBP. — Michael Beller, SI.com, "Willie Calhoun Worth a Gamble in Fantasy Leagues," 28 June 2019 What’s left of the Mandalay is spread out in about 12 feet of aquarium-clear water, home to schools of colorful fish, gaudy purple sea fans and all sorts of reef flora and fauna. — Bonnie Gross, sun-sentinel.com, "Boat tours explore underwater Biscayne National Park," 20 June 2019 Blending in on a coral reef often requires gaudy coloring. — Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic, "Coral reefs depend on lots of fish the size of jellybeans," 23 May 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Cultural theorist Susan Sontag viewed camp as an indescribable ephemera that often involved the gaudy, the glitzy, and the unexpected. — Vogue, "This Summer, Go Full Mermaid With a Campy Seashell Motif," 29 Apr. 2019 The place—decked out in swaths of gold, red, and purple—is a little gaudy, but that's how the locals like it. — Janice Leung Hayes, Condé Nast Traveler, "19 Best Dim Sum Spots in Hong Kong," 5 Mar. 2018 During the joint press conference with Raúl Castro, there wasn’t a gaudy row of 12 overlapping American and Cuban flags as a backdrop, as there was at the greeting with Kim at the Capella Hotel. — Fabiola Santiago, miamiherald, "The Trump-Rubio politics of hypocrisy: Cuba, no deal. North Korea? ‘Has great beaches.’," 12 June 2018 By all accounts, the concert itself was a gaudy, elaborate affair, with venue owner Bill Graham orchestrating a gargantuan white-tie Thanksgiving dinner for 5,000 attendees, while actual ballroom dancers waltzed throughout. — Morgan Enos, Billboard, "'The Last Waltz' Soundtrack 40th Anniversary: 5 Noteworthy Performances From the Concert," 7 Apr. 2018 The elegant granite structure, whose architectural character Trump had promised to preserve, was now besmirched by a gaudy, faux-gold sign bearing his name. — Nick Tabor, Daily Intelligencer, "501 Days in Swampland," 1 Apr. 2018 As a rookie, Matsuzaka went 15-12 with 201 strikeouts but a gaudy 4.40 ERA (108 ERA+), still good for 4.1 WAR. — Jay Jaffe, SI.com, "Ranking the Best Rookie Seasons Among Japanese Players to Join MLB," 9 Dec. 2017 Kyrie Irving dropped 30 to lead the Celtics, and some of his play down the stretch was gaudy as well. — Dakota Crawford, Indianapolis Star, "Celtics on Bogdanovic's gaffe: 'Lucky for us, he didn't want any part of the ball'," 18 Dec. 2017 Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters are dressed in gaudy, poofy dresses that complement the obnoxiousness of their characters. — Orange County Register, "Corona del Mar offers an enchanting ‘Into the Woods’," 7 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gaudy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.