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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
ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Bravo launched its series following a group of acquaintances who party in New York's ritzy Hamptons in 2017, with a group that shifted like stepped upon sand.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Instead, Hall put on late-night shows in the basement of his home and became a popular child magician, earning money by doing his routine at ritzy parties and travelling to magic conventions.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026
All over San Antonio, from the far South Side to the ritzy Dominion and all points in between, folks are talking about the Spurs and the playoffs.
—Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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