tacky

¹

[ tak-ee ]

adjective

tackier, tackiest.

1. sticky to the touch; adhesive.

tacky

²

[ tak-ee ]

adjective

tackier, tackiest.

1. not tasteful or fashionable; dowdy.
2. shabby in appearance; shoddy:

   a tacky, jerry-built housing development.

3. crass; cheaply vulgar; tasteless; crude.
4. gaudy; flashy; showy.

tacky

¹

/ ˈtækɪ /

adjective

1. slightly sticky or adhesive

   the varnish was still tacky

tacky

²

/ ˈtækɪ /

adjective

1. shabby or shoddy
2. ostentatious and vulgar
3. (of a person) dowdy; seedy

Derived Forms

• ˈtackiness, noun
• ˈtackily, adverb
• ˈtackiness, noun

Other Word Forms

• tacki·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tacky¹

First recorded in 1780–90; tack ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of tacky²

1880–85, Americanism; apparently identical with earlier tack(e)y small horse, pony, poor farmer; of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of tacky¹

C18: from tack ¹(in the sense: stickiness)

Origin of tacky²

C19: from dialect tacky an inferior horse, of unknown origin

Example Sentences

You ought to write me even if I’m tacky and I don’t write.

From Salon

To her, her longtime gig at the Razzle Dazzle isn’t just some tacky nudie show — it’s “the last descendant of Parisian Lido culture.”

From Los Angeles Times

Tom Cruise’s motorcycle tour from the boulevards of Paris to the Hollywood Hills in the ceremony’s tacky finale only increased concern.

From Los Angeles Times

The former president’s supporters parked their souped-up pickup trucks covered in tacky decals and flags outside Carnegie Hall, blasting Kid Rock music and holding styrofoam busts poorly made up to look like Griffin.

From Salon

The Padres were tacky, but that was no excuse for Dodgers fans to be idiots.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dingy
• faded
• gaudy
• messy
• run down
• seedy
• shabby
• sleazy
• threadbare
• vulgar