glitterati
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of glitterati
Explanation
Many people tune in to the Academy Awards and other big international events mainly to watch the glitterati — the movie stars and other wealthy celebrities decked out in their glamorous, stunning gowns and tuxedos. The term glitterati was coined in the 1940s as kind of a mocking word for a new kind of celebrity famous more for a glamorous public image than for any real achievement. The word is a blend of the English word glitter — something that's flashy, sparkly, and dazzling — and a word borrowed from Italian, literati, which refers collectively to an elite, cultured class of academics, artists, and writers. The glitterati, in contrast to the literati, are admired more for their sparkle and glamor than for their intellectual or artistic grandeur.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Pepper recently completed an introduction to an art book on the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, to be published this year by Glitterati in New York.
From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2014
A monograph titled “Edwina Sandys Art” was recently published by Glitterati, with a foreword by Anthony Haden-Guest.
From BusinessWeek • Dec. 2, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
