tawdry

[ taw-dree ]

adjective

, taw·dri·er, taw·dri·est.

1. (of finery, trappings, etc.) gaudy; showy and cheap.

   Synonyms: meretricious, flashy

   Antonyms: elegant

2. low or mean; base:

   tawdry motives.

noun

1. cheap, gaudy apparel.

tawdry

/ ˈtɔːdrɪ /

adjective

1. cheap, showy, and of poor quality

   tawdry jewellery

Derived Forms

• ˈtawdrily, adverb
• ˈtawdriness, noun

Other Words From

• tawdri·ly adverb
• tawdri·ness noun
• un·tawdry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tawdry¹

1605–15; short for ( Sain ) t Audrey lace, i.e., neck lace bought at St. Audrey's Fair in Ely, England; so called after St. Audrey ( Old English Aethelthrȳth, died 679), Northumbrian queen and patron saint of Ely, who, according to tradition, died of a throat tumor which she considered just punishment of her youthful liking for neck laces

Word History and Origins

Origin of tawdry¹

C16 tawdry lace, shortened and altered from Seynt Audries lace, finery sold at the fair of St Audrey (Etheldrida), 7th-century queen of Northumbria and patron saint of Ely, Cambridgeshire

Example Sentences

River’s attempts to thwart various potential plots, and prove he is the spy everyone once thought he could be, continually reveal the tawdry, often corrupt machinations of MI5 while energizing his discouraged, disgruntled yet not entirely untalented peers in Slough House.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead of a fixation on the tawdry side of life, you see works that explore the things that bind all people together: family, love, politics, complex emotions and sensual memories.

From Salon

Their tawdry example plainly demands systemic responses: enforceable recusal standards for the Supreme Court, laws regulating receipt of outside income by judges, and perhaps more.

From Slate

He was required to listen to weeks of unflattering testimony, including, several times, to his own voice on that tape Cohen made of him, utterly cognizant of the tawdry deal he was striking.

From Salon

Now, the more tawdry aspects of the Biden family story will be on public display, such as text messages between Hunter Biden and his family - including intimate communication with Beau’s widow.

From BBC

Related Words

• sleazy
• tacky
• vulgar