tawdry

1 of 2

adjective

taw·​dry ˈtȯ-drē 

ˈtä-

tawdrier; tawdriest

1

: cheap and gaudy in appearance or quality

tawdry clothing/jewels

tawdry furniture

"Well, I found myself seated in a horrid little private box … I looked out from behind the curtain and surveyed the house. It was a tawdry affair, all Cupids and cornucopias, like a third-rate wedding-cake."

—Oscar Wilde

Any trip there carries with it more than its share of drabness, tawdry hotels and second-rate service, all of which tax the forbearance of the most patient traveler.

—John F. Burns

2

: morally sordid, base, or distasteful

a tawdry scandal

a tawdry love affair

a tawdry attempt to smear his opponent

Setting aside the tawdry manner in which his marriage had (publicly) unraveled, the mayor's combative style had begun to grate on many New Yorkers.

—Jonathan Mahler

tawdrily

ˈtȯ-drə-lē 

ˈtä-

adverb

tawdriness

ˈtȯ-drē-nəs 

ˈtä-

noun

tawdry

2 of 2

noun

: cheap showy finery

Did you know?

In the 7th century, Etheldreda, the queen of Northumbria, renounced her husband and her royal position in order to become a nun. She was renowned for her saintliness and is said to have died of a swelling in her throat, which she took as a judgment upon her fondness for wearing necklaces in her youth. Her shrine became a principal site of pilgrimage in England. An annual fair was held in her honor on October 17th, and her name became simplified to St. Audrey. At these fairs various kinds of cheap knickknacks were sold, along with a type of necklace called St. Audrey's lace, which by the 16th century had become altered to tawdry lace. Eventually, tawdry came to be used to describe anything cheap and gaudy that might be found at these fairs or anywhere else.

Choose the Right Synonym for tawdry

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 tawdry in a Sentence

Adjective

The scandal was a tawdry affair.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The emails were the last straw for the House of Windsor after years of tawdry headlines about Andrew’s dodgy friends and suspicious business deals. —CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025

Those are the experiences, people say, that built the man's character, not the tawdry details of one moment in time. —Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 15 Oct. 2025

For once in your tawdry, obese life, do the right thing. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 5 Sep. 2025

Some of the settings are extremely well chosen and designed, particularly the tawdry Taco Hut law offices (in contrast to the chic modernity of the Tinsley Britt workplace) and a dingy seaside diner where people keep having meetings. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

tawdry lace a tie of lace for the neck, from St. Audrey (St. Etheldreda) †679 queen of Northumbria

First Known Use

Adjective

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1680, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

tawdry

adjective

taw·​dry

ˈtȯd-rē,

ˈtäd-

tawdrier; tawdriest

: cheap and showy

tawdrily

-rə-lē

adverb

tawdriness

-rē-nəs

noun