meretricious

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective meretricious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of meretricious are flashy, garish, gaudy, and tawdry. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," 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 is it sensible to use flashy instead of meretricious?

The words flashy and meretricious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

When could garish be used to replace meretricious?

While the synonyms garish and meretricious are close in meaning, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

Where would gaudy be a reasonable alternative to meretricious?

The words gaudy and meretricious can be used in similar contexts, but gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When would tawdry be a good substitute for meretricious?

Although the words tawdry and meretricious have much in common, 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 meretricious These meretricious narratives play well throughout the Global South. Michael Miklaucic, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2025 These meretricious narratives play well throughout the Global South. Michael Miklaucic, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025 Denzel Washington stars as Macrinus, a meretricious arms dealer who own a stable of gladiators, while Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are brothers and ruling emperors. Zoe Guy, Vulture, 1 July 2024 But as a character study, with Holocaust themes deepening the stakes of the domestic turmoil, the play holds up extremely well in its critique of a world that has lost its capacity for silence and that is prepared to sacrifice literature for meretricious distraction. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2024 The bullying tactics being used to sell this boondoggle are underhanded and meretricious. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024 These shows raised the bar for musical drama and proved to Broadway that meretricious soullessness isn’t the only way. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2023 You’re left with a feeling of overwhelming perversity, of a kind of meretricious, insane God out there playing games. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2023 Today’s sleek, simple anti-It Bags, on the other hand, telegraph a less meretricious sort of chic. Fiorella Valdesolo, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meretricious
Adjective
  • The New England Patriots’ recent struggles in the NFL Draft have been very conspicuous.
    Chad Graff, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the most conspicuous manifestation of this growing musical movement returns with the 10th Berkeley Festival of Choro April 17-20.
    Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Kawhi Leonard was the star of the show, though, leading the Clippers with 39 points on a remarkable 15-for-19 shooting night.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The remarkable images — taken from Quebec, Canada, during the March 29, 2025, partial solar eclipse — reveal the sun's outer atmosphere — a feature typically visible only during the brief moments of totality during a total solar eclipse.
    Jamie Carter, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s not going to be enough against Luka Dončić, who was brilliant again, and LeBron James, who nearly had a triple-double.
    The Athletic NBA Staff, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Part of the United States’ brilliant nineteenth-century strategy was also its superlative domestic economic policy, combining Low Taxes with a very business-friendly regulatory framework.
    Nathan Lewis, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This stone and glass shade is breathtakingly beautiful without being too loud or funky.
    Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 24 Apr. 2025
  • While exposure to loud noises is a common cause of hair cell damage in humans, hearing loss in dogs is usually attributed to genetics or the natural aging process.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Use the dome light and flashers to make your vehicle more noticeable.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • But within weeks, the change in sentiment was noticeable.
    Pradeep Prasana Kanagaraj, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The sight of brown pelicans diving headfirst into the ocean in pursuit of a meal represents one of the distinctive visual images of the California coast, their dramatic flight the highlight of a predatory mission.
    Jorge L. Ortiz, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
  • That idea may sound nutty amidst unprecedented uncertainty and a dramatic rise in anti-environment rhetoric and actions in the macro environment.
    Rob Kaplan, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • That was really striking to me because California is very loud and proud about its progressive values, and LA is also very loud and proud about its health and wellness.
    Amy Marturana Winderl, SELF, 29 Apr. 2025
  • That could put it within striking distance of Captain America: Brave New World in the 2025 domestic box-office totals, since that movie made $200 million domestically.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Her thirty-five-year corporate journey has been marked by outstanding achievement and transformative influence.
    Mamie Jones, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Explore Kylie Minogue See latest videos, charts and news The honor, awarded annually by APRA AMCOS, recognizes outstanding contributions to the Australian music industry.
    Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 28 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Meretricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meretricious. Accessed 4 May. 2025.

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