gaudy
tastelessly showy, kitschy
TRANSLATION
prunkhaft, farbenprächtig, geschmacklos, grell; überladen, aufgeputzt; (Brit. univ.) jährliches Festmahl (für ehemalige Studenten)
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"So Grand, So Gaudy, So Versace - The Medusa heads have all been removed from the fences, tiling and around the pool. And that vast 12-bedroom, 13-bath Mediterranean-style mansion on Ocean Drive has been sold -- for $19 million. All that remains of the contents of the hedonistic pleasure palace Gianni Versace called Casa Casuarina, his Miami Beach home, has been shipped to Sotheby's New York, where it hits the auction block tonight through Saturday. The three-day auction is expected to fetch up to $7 million."
(Marisa Fox in The L.A. Times - Thursday, April 5, 2001)
(Marisa Fox in The L.A. Times - Thursday, April 5, 2001)
Did you
know?
Wordwise:
gau-dy
Function: adjective
Etymology: From Old French gaudir "to rejoice, make merry, to jest, scoff at" from late Latin gaudre "to rejoice." Latin gaudium "joy, happiness." Akin to Greek ganusthai "to rejoice".
Date: 1582
1 : ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented
2 : marked by dazzling brilliance, showiness, or extravagance (gaudy praise)
- gaud-i-ly adverb
- gaud-i-ness noun
synonyms 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).
gau-dy
Function: adjective
Etymology: From Old French gaudir "to rejoice, make merry, to jest, scoff at" from late Latin gaudre "to rejoice." Latin gaudium "joy, happiness." Akin to Greek ganusthai "to rejoice".
Date: 1582
1 : ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented
2 : marked by dazzling brilliance, showiness, or extravagance (gaudy praise)
- gaud-i-ly adverb
- gaud-i-ness noun
synonyms 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).
