ticky-tacky

adjective

variants also ticky-tack
Definition of ticky-tackynext
as in inappropriate
marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste her house is full of ticky-tacky figurines

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ticky-tacky
  1. inappropriate
  2. tacky
  3. trashy
  4. unsuitable
  5. incorrect
  6. cheesy
  7. wrong
  8. unfashionable
Adjective
  • From the seasonally inappropriate hot springs of Beitou to the glossy, souvenir-flogging halls of Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, the plot of this coming-of-age story doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable realities of traveling abroad.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Within minutes, the profile received follow requests, inappropriate direct messages and lewd video calls from adult men.
    — Titania Jordan, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of inappropriate
Adjective
  • Could a fellow traveler hint at the inappropriate, tacky nature of this display?
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Over time, the polish builds up, trapping dirt and turning your floors tacky.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of tacky
Adjective
  • To paraphrase Tolstoy, all slop is alike, but every piece of trash is trashy in its own oddball way.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Fright fans get the 13th season of American Horror Story, and there's plenty of comedy and trashy reality TV as well.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of trashy
Adjective
  • Guy acknowledges, though, that this could lead to the level of chaos depicted in a memorable 2009 episode of The Office, where staff show up in an array of unsuitable outfits.
    — Chloe Veltman, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
  • That could allow geothermal projects to operate in locations that have traditionally been considered unsuitable for geothermal development.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of unsuitable
Adjective
  • State officials stress that the incorrect information does not belong to another Michigan resident.
    — Terrance Friday, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Manufacturers there can have the products reanalyzed, but dispensaries can’t sell those products until retesting shows the original analysis was incorrect.
    — Christopher Osher, ProPublica, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of incorrect
Adjective
  • Cooking columnist Ben Mims gives us tips and recipes for this cheesy delight.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Frico, in the modern sense, refers to that dark, crunchy, cheesy edge found on a Detroit-style pizza.
    — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheesy
Adjective
  • But asking whether the problem is useful is the wrong question, Verhoeff argues.
    — Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2026
  • That opening stunk, what was wrong with the traditional start of the show?
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of wrong
Adjective
  • The very characteristics that made blue-collar businesses unfashionable, their physicality and labor intensity, are now their defensive moat.
    — Gustaf Lundberg Toresson, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • As one Ithacan subject fondly recalls, Odysseus always had an unfashionable belief in playing fair.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
Definition of unfashionable
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ticks off
ticky-tacky
tics
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ticky-tacky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ticky-tacky. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of loath

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All