GAUDY Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'gaudy' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of gaudy are flashy , garish , meretricious , and tawdry . While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation. // circus performers in gaudy costumes

Q: When could 'flashy' be used to replace 'gaudy'?

The words flashy and gaudy 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

Q: When is 'garish' a more appropriate choice than 'gaudy'?

While in some cases nearly identical to gaudy , garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright. // garish neon signs

Q: Where would 'meretricious' be a reasonable alternative to 'gaudy'?

The synonyms meretricious and gaudy are sometimes interchangeable, 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

Q: When is it sensible to use 'tawdry' instead of 'gaudy'?

In some situations, the words tawdry and gaudy are roughly equivalent. However, tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy. // tawdry saloons

gaudy

adjective

ˈgȯ-dē

Definition of gaudy next

as in loud

excessively showy gaudy decorations on all the doors and windows at festival time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective gaudy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of gaudy are flashy, garish, meretricious, and tawdry. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," gaudy implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation.

circus performers in gaudy costumes

When could flashy be used to replace gaudy?

The words flashy and gaudy 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 is garish a more appropriate choice than gaudy?

While in some cases nearly identical to gaudy, garish describes what is distressingly or offensively bright.

garish neon signs

Where would meretricious be a reasonable alternative to gaudy?

The synonyms meretricious and gaudy are sometimes interchangeable, 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

When is it sensible to use tawdry instead of gaudy?

In some situations, the words tawdry and gaudy are roughly equivalent. However, tawdry applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy.

tawdry saloons

Examples 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 gaudy When Cody tried to put over the gaudy Crown Jewel Championship, fans did not seem all that impressed with it. —

Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024 Plenty of people would call it gaudy and outré, an immature demand for attention or a tasteless attempt to secure superficial status. —

Eleanor Pringle, Fortune Europe, 9 Sep. 2024 To introduce a villain that so overtly reflects its heroes’ flaws is nothing short of a comic-book-superhero flourish, which is fitting, given how much Ryoo’s seedy vision of metropolitan South Korea this time around resembles the gaudy depths of Gotham City. —

Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024 Both Annette as a character and Curtis’ pantomime take on her jolt us out of a movie Coppola has clearly conceived as a soulful, sensitive alternative to gaudy screen depictions of similar milieus, like Showgirls and Burlesque. —

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gaudy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaudy

Adjective

The result has been a film rollout that at times feels louder than the film itself.

New York Times, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2024
And that’s the fine line developers and studio heads have to walk in the face of this newer, meaner, louder movement against diversity in the industry: whether or not to acknowledge its existence.

Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 7 Dec. 2024