Definition of GAUDY

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 More coverage: Ryan McMahon is 'all-in' for Louisville, as a starter or off the bench Williams may not have had the gaudy numbers his freshman teammate posted, but no one else did. — Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, "Freshman phenom David Johnson leads Louisville basketball to massive win at Duke," 19 Jan. 2020 They’re players whose careers weren’t dotted with accolades or gaudy stats, but who hung around regardless, becoming mildly memorable in the process. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "37 MLB Players Destined to Become 'Guys' Who Will Be Remembered," 17 Sep. 2019 Brissett’s gaudy totals Sunday bring his season numbers to 14 touchdowns and three interceptions along with a quarterback rating (101.0) that ranks among the top 10 in the NFL after the first batch of Sunday’s games. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: Jacoby Brissett ‘definitely not game manager; he’s a game changer’," 21 Oct. 2019 The pros and cons of doing business in China are a matter of public debate like never before, with cultural, political and potential multimillion-dollar financial implications and far too much heft to fade as quickly as gaudy preseason statistics. — Marc Stein, New York Times, "China Conflict Mutes N.B.A.’s New-Season Buzz," 12 Oct. 2019 Stafford, who used to be fun for fantasy purposes, has posted gaudy touchdown rates over his career, including a 6.4% rate in 2011. — C.d. Carter, Sports Illustrated, "Reliability of Career Touchdown Rate Bodes Well for These Quarterbacks," 20 June 2019 The job of president of Ukraine is hard enough — but now there is the curious, gaudy problem of America. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, "Ukraine and Us," 19 Dec. 2019 In addition to the gaudy tackle for loss numbers, the Warhawks’ defensive line has had no issue getting to the quarterback. — Shawn Mcfarland, courant.com, "Bloomfield football by the numbers: A look at the Warhawks’ eye-popping, undefeated season so far," 12 Dec. 2019 Bring on the cringe-y patterns in all their gaudy, red and green glory. — Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, "Walmart Apologizes for Christmas Sweater of Santa Doing Cocaine," 9 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun But with Siemian going mostly against second-team players and Sloter mostly against third-team guys, the latter’s gaudy stats apparently didn’t impress Zimmer a lot. — Chris Tomasson, Twin Cities, "Inconsistency by Kyle Sloter could factor in Sean Mannion being Vikings’ backup QB," 27 July 2019 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

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.