as in cheese
something that is of low quality but that many people find amusing and enjoyable
The restaurant is decorated with 1950s furniture and kitsch from old TV shows.
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as in kitschy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kitsch
Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
Later, criticism also came from arbiters of high modernism, such as Clement Greenberg, who wrote off New Deal art as kitsch for the masses.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Flea markets sold Soviet kitsch, while imperial antiques disappeared from private collections along with their owners.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Qajar-dynasty kitsch—kings with walrus mustaches and embellished turbans, women with unibrows in tunics—became ubiquitous as a motif in contemporary art, on the walls of cafés, on teapots.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kitsch
Noun
This week, Julia Fox became an unexpected adopter of conservative kitsch at the Fashion Trust US Awards, arriving in a frilly satin salmon pink oversized nightgown from rising cult label Ashley Williams.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
Later, criticism also came from arbiters of high modernism, such as Clement Greenberg, who wrote off New Deal art as kitsch for the masses.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Flea markets sold Soviet kitsch, while imperial antiques disappeared from private collections along with their owners.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Qajar-dynasty kitsch—kings with walrus mustaches and embellished turbans, women with unibrows in tunics—became ubiquitous as a motif in contemporary art, on the walls of cafés, on teapots.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kitsch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kitsch
Noun
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At first glance, the breakfast buffet seems to be a rather average array of yogurt, cheeses, cold cuts, and scrambled eggs, but don’t sleep on the chef’s homemade cakes and pastries.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 May 2026
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The restaurant is smoking up plenty of brisket and enormous beef ribs — along with chicken and pork — to go with mac and cheese, baked beans, collard greens, potato salad and other Southern sides.—
Heidi Finley,
Charlotte Observer,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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The auction features more than 500 lots of designer clothing, shoes, furnishings, kitschy keepsakes and props straight from the beloved show.—
Kailyn Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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And Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (2022) dropped its kitschy, hip-swiveling subject into a delirious fever dream that at the very least made its messy screenplay interesting.—
Keith Murphy,
VIBE.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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And today the district, which is in charge of the lake’s restoration, regularly harvests thousands of pounds of gizzard shad, a bottom-feeding junk fish that stirs up and eats nutrients on the lake floor.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
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In reality, this is junk science and government overreach.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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Not because of the roving packs of teenagers or even the garish displays of overconsumption, but because mall architecture was high art.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
17 Apr. 2026
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Out front was a parked Jeep that had been decorated in garish camouflage and emblazoned with the grinning face of a man who went by Lawyer Don.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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From the Japanese point of view, leaving rubbish piled up in a stadium would be a bother to others.—
Stephen Wade,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Local villages are actively monitoring the oceans and reefs in their environment, and backlash to a recent plan from a billionaire Australian to build a giant plant to incinerate rubbish in Fiji was loud and well organized, says Singh.—
MIchelle Duff,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The former's post-apocalyptic cities were nicely sun-scorched and detailed, while the latter's gaudy anime pirates popped with vibrancy.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
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Both these cousins grow to a comparable size and shape about 15 to 20 feet tall and wide, and combine gaudy spring flowers with scarlet and crimson fall foliage.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Limon’s body was found April 24 on the Howard Frankland Bridge, also in a large black trash bag and with stab injuries, records state.—
Tony Marrero,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 May 2026
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Pratt, 42, has not been shy about his views, referring to Bass as trash, using the Spanish word basura as a play on her last name.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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For those who know the play well, some of Mantello’s choices are most striking, especially the horror here of the famous hotel-room scene with a tawdry lover (brutally played by Katherine Romans), an act born of loneliness that destroys a father’s relationship with his son forever.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Illinois and Chicago are high-tax, big-promise blue strongholds with long, tawdry histories of waste, fraud, patronage, insider deals and blatant corruption.—
Andy Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kitsch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kitsch. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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