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Synonyms

tacky

1 American  
[tak-ee] / ˈtæk i /

adjective

tackier, tackiest

  1. sticky to the touch; adhesive.

tacky 2 American  
[tak-ee] / ˈtæk i /

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 British  
/ ˈtækɪ /

adjective

  1. shabby or shoddy

  2. ostentatious and vulgar

  3. (of a person) dowdy; seedy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
tacky 2 British  
/ ˈtækɪ /

adjective

  1. slightly sticky or adhesive

    the varnish was still tacky
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • tackily adverb
  • tackiness noun

Etymology

Origin of tacky1

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

Origin of tacky2

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

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.

Some people might see her decorations as "tacky", but Felicity says that "for me, all of those colours bring me calm".

From BBC

But some executives viewed the endeavor as tacky.

From Los Angeles Times

Its guest star appearance on “The Bear” also beefed up sales, championing the elevation of humble foods that gourmands once wrote off as tacky.

From Salon

"It looks lovely. It's not tacky. It's in keeping with the whole street. I was really upset for her," she said.

From BBC

The Plook's replacement is an "equally tacky" trophy fashioned by Kevin - an arm with a red heart jutting out of it just above the elbow.

From BBC

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.