Synonyms of tawdry

tawdry 1 of 2

adjective

as in terrible

marked by low quality and unbecoming appearance

We tolerate the neighbors' tawdry Christmas display during the holidays, but by January we're about sick of it.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• terrible
• poor
• miserable
• rotten
• cheap
• meretricious
• common
• gaudy
• showy
• glitzy
• bad
• garish
• kitschy
• fake
• ostentatious
• flashy
• wretched
• lurid
• swanky
• tacky
• vulgar
• kitsch
• splashy
• swank
• sham
• tasteless
• shoddy
• trashy
• low-rent
• inelegant
• sleazy
• rubbishy
• cheesy
• mediocre
• gimcrack
• graceless
• shabby
• execrable
• low-grade
• phony
• schlocky
• seedy
• bum
• second-rate
• crappy
• junky
• coarse
• tinselly
• lousy
• shlocky
• trumpery
• cheapjack
• inferior
• counterfeit
• schlock
• shlock
• cut-rate
• phoney
• brummagem
• bargain-basement
• lackluster
• indifferent
• el cheapo
• second-class
• ultracheap
• supercheap

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elegant
• handsome
• tasteful
• polished
• refined
• excellent
• good
• superior
• fine
• first-class
• high-grade
• handcrafted
• first-rate
• top-notch

tawdry

2 of 2

noun

as in trumpery

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trumpery
• gayety
• frippery
• finery
• foofaraw
• regalia
• gaiety
• pretties
• gaudery
• bravery
• tatters
• glad rags
• caparison
• rags
• trim
• clothes
• clothing
• garb
• livery
• ensemble
• array
• frock
• costumery
• raiment
• vestments
• attire
• costume
• garments
• wardrobe
• apparel
• rigging
• vesture
• threads
• toggery
• weeds
• duds
• getup
• wear
• guise
• rig
• couture
• gear
• garderobe
• civies
• dress
• clobber
• togs
• civvies
• wearables
• tailoring
• underwear
• mufti
• habiliment(s)
• outfit
• vestiary
• ready-to-wear
• sportswear
• habit
• outerwear
• underclothes
• loungewear
• sleepwear
• smallclothes
• pret-a-porter
• playwear
• activewear
• prêt-à-porter
• nightclothes

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective tawdry contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of tawdry are flashy, garish, gaudy, and meretricious. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

When is flashy a more appropriate choice than tawdry?

In some situations, the words flashy and tawdry are roughly equivalent. However, flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

In what contexts can garish take the place of tawdry?

The meanings of garish and tawdry largely overlap; however, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

When is it sensible to use gaudy instead of tawdry?

While in some cases nearly identical to tawdry, gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When would meretricious be a good substitute for tawdry?

The words meretricious and tawdry can be used in similar contexts, 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tawdry

Adjective

He was best known as a filmmaker — using his lens to unearth the tawdry, decayed and bizarre beneath the surface of mundane reality. —Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2025

Image Those actions were, apparently, tawdry means to an end. —Richard Fausset, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024

Managers leapt at the chance to democratize theater and shed the tawdrier aspects of its reputation, and pantomime was a great way to do so. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 18 Dec. 2024

Choosing the most wonderful time of the year as the time frame is clever and purposeful, too: For every twinkly Christmas tree and festive gathering, there’s a tawdry, dangerous scheme unfolding somewhere close by. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024

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