Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective flashy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of flashy are garish, gaudy, meretricious, and tawdry. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

When can garish be used instead of flashy?

Although the words garish and flashy have much in common, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

When is it sensible to use gaudy instead of flashy?

The meanings of gaudy and flashy largely overlap; however, gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When might meretricious be a better fit than flashy?

The synonyms meretricious and flashy are sometimes interchangeable, but meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.

a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

When would tawdry be a good substitute for flashy?

In some situations, the words tawdry and flashy are roughly equivalent. However, tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flashy But as many companies have struggled to find ways to easily, effectively implement AI into their daily processes—and flashy solutions have started to touch every part of the business—discussion around personalization seems to have petered out a bit. Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 17 Oct. 2025 There’s nothing flashy about it. Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 17 Oct. 2025 As a backdrop for all this contemporary music, the show’s choreography, lighting and glitzy projections combine to create the look and feel of a flashy ’90s-era boy band concert. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025 These simple bike shorts may not look flashy, but they were designed by MTB obsessives that don’t overlook anything. Will Porter, Outside, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for flashy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flashy
Adjective
  • When Allswell first launched, it was positioned as a stylish, affordable alternative to big-name mattress brands.
    Rebecca Grambone, Architectural Digest, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Olivia Culpo, wife of San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and mother of their 4-month-old daughter Colette, balanced a comfy and stylish game day ‘fit with pumping gear, and, by her own admission, a wild hangover while watching her husband’s team triumph over the Atlanta Falcons.
    Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The signs are loud, don’t worry.
    Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025
  • On land, louder environments like running alongside traffic might compete a little too much with talking audio – noise-canceling earbuds or over-ear headphones are better in this setting.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Most of the other acts featured students dressed up in costumes or snazzy duds.
    Jeff Pearlman, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
  • And its prestige image started to fade as snazzy new Chinese EV makers emerged and Tesla’s lineup needed a refresher (a new, roomier six-seater Model Y had a successful launch in August).
    Rebecca A. Fannin, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Cregger wrote the screenplay in his garage next to a noisy refrigerator.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Kids were often outside on bikes and scooters and roller skates, playing tag or touch football, turning cartwheels on the lawns, being noisy.
    Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Accordingly, the hotel attracts an artsy and fashionable clientele; its lounges and hallways buzz during the annual Art Basel fair and events like the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and Miami Music Week.
    Sara Liss, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025
  • For better or worse, fashionable footwear has invaded the hiking space.
    Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Her gaudy sales numbers mirror her Eras Tour live statistics, which were similarly Barry-Bonds-on-steroids margins beyond other successful stadium artists.
    Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025
  • The Panthers have allowed opposing quarterbacks to play well outside of the Falcons’ Michael Penix in Week 3, but even then, the opposing QBs’ numbers haven’t been all that gaudy.
    Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This versatile set includes multiple cube sizes, plus a dedicated accessories bag, shoe bag, large laundry bag, and a hanging cosmetics case to keep your essentials neat from takeoff to touchdown.
    Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2025
  • When a prosperous farming family was murdered in their own home in cold blood for no reason at all by two young male ex-cons, the image of a neat, safe, mid-20th century rural American life was shattered.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Two reps later, Nix saw blitz and — with a veteran’s cool — checked into a quick-hit to Evan Engram, who sped for 20 yards.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Shrimp boats bob in the harbor, American flags flutter from pastel porches and old oak trees draped in Spanish moss offer cool shade.
    Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Flashy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flashy. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

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