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César Ritz (1850-1918) earned worldwide renown for the luxurious hotels bearing his name in London and Paris. (The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is a contemporary descendant of these enterprises.) Although they were by no means the first to cater to high-end clients, Ritz’s hotels quickly earned reputations as symbols of opulence. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer who often focused on the fashionably wealthy, titled one of his short stories “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” and the phrase “to put on the ritz” means “to indulge in ostentatious display.” The adjective ritzy, describing either something fancy or stylish, or the haughty attitudes of the wealthy elite, first checked into the English language in 1919.
Examples of ritzy in a Sentence
Siobhan Reid, Vogue, 25 Nov. 2025
The defendants are accused of participating in a scheme to rig ritzy card games in Manhattan, Las Vegas, Miami and the Hamptons.
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 24 Nov. 2025
But that pair isn’t the only upcoming Three Stripes release that’s getting the ritzy makeover.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 22 Nov. 2025
The Centennial State is the best place to experience a ritzy winter wonderland.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ritzy
Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 5 Dec. 2025.
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