townish

American  

[tou-nish] / ˈtaʊ nɪʃ /

adjective

1. of or relating to qualities or features typical of or befitting a town or city.

2. (of a person) characterized by the attitudes, opinions, manners, etc., of town or city living.

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Other Word Forms

• townishly adverb
• townishness noun

Etymology

Origin of townish

First recorded in 1375–1425, townish is from the late Middle English word townysche. See town, -ish ¹

Example Sentences

"To Pheladelphy, ma'am," said Betsey, looking quite young and gay, and wearing a townish and unfamiliar air that upheld her words.

From A Country Doctor and Selected Stories and Sketches by Jewett, Sarah Orne

To a man who needs rest there is something at first sight truly frightful in the townish gregariousness of Brighton proper, with its pretentious common-place architecture, and its ceaseless bustle and rolling of wheels.

From A New Illustrated Edition of J. S. Rarey's Art of Taming Horses With the Substance of the Lectures at the Round House, and Additional Chapters on Horsemanship and Hunting, for the Young and Timid by Rarey, J. S. (John Solomon)

What a contrast between her dress and the townish splendour with which Frau Kalzow had decked herself, even several doubtful diamonds were not missing.

From Withered Leaves. Vol. I. (of III) A Novel by Gottschall, Rudolf von

She was, for the place and post, a complete surprise, being a jaunty, townish, garish woman, dressed in decayed finery.

From The Yeoman Adventurer by Gough, George W.

She had been a thing of shy restraint then, showing with an almost old-fashioned simplicity against her background of townish sophistication.

From Ewing\'s Lady by Wilson, Harry Leon