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

• ˈtawdriness, noun
• ˈtawdrily, adverb

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

The increased eyes on these cases have led average people to become armchair detectives, overrunning comments sections with tawdry speculation.

From The Daily Beast

The site of a massacre ordered by British officers more than a century ago, the somber memorial has recently been given what several observers have called a tawdry makeover.

From Quartz

It has been reclaimed by some as a marker of empowerment and by others as a critical satire of male bravado and tawdry, art-world branding.

From Washington Post

We hear Ruby, “the owner of tawdry nightclubs and strip clubs,” telling a reporter in a choked voice, “I love this city because there is so much culture here.”

From Washington Post

There is, however, one unsung hero to this otherwise tawdry story.

From The Daily Beast

The show has been accused of peddling the kind of tawdry sentiment that has driven the inhabitants of Detroit to distraction.

From The Daily Beast

So, why is it, then that are there so few movies lately that are not jaded, tawdry, humorlessly moralistic, or amorally violent?

From The Daily Beast

But using donors to enrich oneself is as an old and tawdry practice that is about getting rich, not famous.

From The Daily Beast

The tawdry details of the Clinton scandals differed, but the basic narrative was one to which Americans were becoming inured.

From The Daily Beast

In the centre of this table stood a tawdry Japanese vase, worth, perhaps, five or six shillings.

From Project Gutenberg

Even the children were not whimpering, the tawdry women were not hysterical, not a parrot raised his voice nor a dog whined.

From Project Gutenberg

The fire was the really great adornment; all else was cheap, and some of it was tawdry.

From Project Gutenberg

Singularly enough, this modest lady gave the origin to the word “tawdry,” so Thornbury declares.

From Project Gutenberg

Can't you see what a miserable sham the thing is—a cheap, tawdry imitation of the splendid classic type?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• sleazy
• tacky
• vulgar