garish

adjective

gar·​ish ˈger-ish 

1

: clothed in vivid colors

a garish clown

2

a

: excessively or disturbingly vivid

garish colors

garish imagery

b

: offensively or distressingly bright : glaring

3

: tastelessly showy : flashy

garish neon signs

garishly adverb

garishness noun

Synonyms

• loud
• noisy
• gaudy

Choose the Right Synonym for garish

gaudy, tawdry, garish, flashy, meretricious mean vulgarly or cheaply showy.

gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

a flashy nightclub act

meretricious stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise.

a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars

Examples of garish in a Sentence

the wedding guest's thick makeup was garish and unnecessary

Recent Examples on the Web

Nearly every garish flight of fancy that decorates the frame is a distraction while the majority of the film does little more than rotely dramatize Kafka’s biography. —Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025

In the nightmare scenes, her makeup takes on a more garish tone, able to imprint an image with the audience, who only sees her for a fraction of a second. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025

In the Kurosawa version, the characters see the house on the hill as garish. —Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 4 Sep. 2025

Severinsen wore purposely garish suits, turning himself into a character. —Chris Almeida, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for garish

• bearish
• cherish
• farish
• perish
• squarish
• nightmarish

Kids Definition

garish

adjective

gar·​ish ˈga(ə)r-ish 

ˈge(ə)r-

: too bright or showy : gaudy

garishly adverb

garishness noun