meretricious

adjective

mer·e·tri·cious ˌmer-ə-ˈtri-shəs

Synonyms of meretricious next

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

meretricious relationships

: tawdrily and falsely attractive

the paradise they found was a piece of meretricious trash—

Carolyn See

: 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 meretrix, meaning "prostitute," and its related adjective "meretricius" ("of or relating to a prostitute"). The Latin meretricius 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 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 That stagy feel comes from the chest voice and vibrato, slightly recalling Bryan Ferry’s meretricious wobble here. —

Sasha Frere-Jones, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2022 Vonnegut combined silly sci-fi comedy with even sillier oversimplifications to such meretricious effect that his true peer was not another novelist but Dr. Seuss. —

Kyle Smith, National Review, 23 Nov. 2021 These artistic reckonings prove that meretricious contemporary filmmakers can barely justify their own practices. —

Armond White, National Review, 9 July 2021 Indeed, that’s what makes the otherwise meretricious story of Gatsby and Daisy so compelling. —

Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meretricious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.