meretricious

adjective

mer·​e·​tri·​cious ˌmer-ə-ˈtri-shəs 

1

: of or relating to a prostitute : having the nature of prostitution

meretricious relationships

2

a

: tawdrily and falsely attractive

the paradise they found was a piece of meretricious trash

—Carolyn See

b

: superficially (see superficial sense 2) significant : pretentious

scholarly names to provide fig-leaves of respectability for meretricious but stylish books

—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

meretriciously adverb

meretriciousness noun

Did you know?

Meretricious can be traced back to the Latin verb merēre, meaning "to earn, gain, or deserve." It shares this origin with a small group of other English words, including merit, meritorious, and emeritus. But, while these words can suggest some degree of honor or esteem, meretricious is used to suggest pretense, insincerity, and cheap or tawdry ornamentation. The Latin merēre is at the root of the Latin noun meretrīx, meaning "woman who engages in sex for financial considerations," and its related adjective meretrīcius ("of or relating to such a woman"). The Latin meretrīcius entered into English as meretricious in the 17th century. Shortly after being adopted, meretricious also began to be used to indicate things which are superficially attractive but which have little or no value or integrity.

Choose the Right Synonym for meretricious

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 meretricious in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But as a character study, with Holocaust themes deepening the stakes of the domestic turmoil, the play holds up extremely well in its critique of a world that has lost its capacity for silence and that is prepared to sacrifice literature for meretricious distraction. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2024

The heads of banks, corporations, universities, law firms, foundations, and media companies were neither more nor less venal, meretricious, and greedy than their counterparts today. —George Packer, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2011

The bullying tactics being used to sell this boondoggle are underhanded and meretricious. —Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024

These shows raised the bar for musical drama and proved to Broadway that meretricious soullessness isn’t the only way. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2023

You’re left with a feeling of overwhelming perversity, of a kind of meretricious, insane God out there playing games. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2023

By condescending to the twins’ evident lack of cultural exposure, the media compound a circumstance that suggests remote parental influence — and dereliction of our rapaciously indifferent consumer culture that sells only what is new and meretricious. —Armond White, National Review, 28 Aug. 2020

Today’s sleek, simple anti-It Bags, on the other hand, telegraph a less meretricious sort of chic. —Fiorella Valdesolo, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2023

The Batman certainly can’t be dismissed as yet another meretricious superhero caper. —Kyle Smith, National Review, 28 Feb. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Latin meretricius, from meretric-, meretrix prostitute, from merēre to earn — more at merit entry 1

First Known Use

1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

meretricious

adjective

mer·​e·​tri·​cious ˌmer-ə-ˈtrish-əs 

: falsely attractive

meretriciously adverb

meretriciousness noun