chintzy

American  

[chint-see] / ˈtʃɪnt si /

adjective

chintzier, chintziest

1. of, like, or decorated with chintz.

2. cheap, inferior, or gaudy.

3. stingy; miserly.

   a chintzy way to entertain guests.

   Synonyms:

   close, cheap

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chintzy British  

/ ˈtʃɪntsɪ /

adjective

1. of, resembling, or covered with chintz

2. informal typical of the decor associated with the use of chintz soft furnishings, as in a country cottage

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Etymology

Origin of chintzy

First recorded in 1850–55; chintz + -y ¹; cf. chinchy, which has reinforced figurative senses

Explanation

Something that's chintzy is tacky or cheap. A badly made pair of pants is chintzy, and a terribly acted, melodramatic movie is too. Things made of inferior materials are chintzy: "I like the neighborhood, but the house is so badly built, with really chintzy kitchen cabinets and closet doors." Another way to use this adjective is to mean "stingy," or "ungenerous." You might complain about your chintzy boss at work, who's known for giving workers five cent raises and not paying for overtime. Chintzy comes from the cotton fabric known as chintz, from the ordinariness of this common material.

Example Sentences

It’s all chintzy and campy, the plundering of low-hanging fruit.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

As much as I honor the Sportback’s super-clean aero efficiency of 0.24 Cd, this presentation comes dangerously close to chintzy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

From its opening sequence, where Johnson’s Kerr blasts through a chintzy Egyptian pyramid to enter the ring at an early fight in Brazil, the movie looks fantastic.

From Salon • Oct. 4, 2025

What he presents in the first half is cringeworthy: a chintzy and cheesy playacting of the chaos, with any discussion of the issues.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2024

The chintzy chair is nice and roomy, and I don’t resist pulling my legs up into it.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali