clinquant

[ kling-kuh nt ]

/ ˈklɪŋ kənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clinquant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

glittering, especially with tinsel; decked with garish finery.

noun

imitation gold leaf; tinsel; false glitter.

RELATED WORDS

gold, showy, tinsel

Nearby words

clinopyroxene, clinoril, clinoscope, clinostat, clinozoisite, clinquant, clint, clinton, clinton impeachment, clinton, bill, clinton, de witt

Origin of clinquant

1585–95; < Middle French: clinking, present participle of clinquer (< Dutch klinken to sound); see -ant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for clinquant

My eyes rejoice in the shine of it; its clinquant sound is music in my ears.
Trivia|Logan Pearsall Smith
I liked Jack, but not clinquant in crimson and gold, with spurs and sword clanking on the hard, frost-bitten road.
The Yeoman Adventurer|George W. Gough
Clinquant, klingk′ant, adj. shining like tinsel: glittering.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
The clinquant corslet of the Swiss girl just survives at bals costums.
The Works of Max Beerbohm|Max Beerbohm

British Dictionary definitions for clinquant

clinquant

/ (ˈklɪŋkənt) /

adjective

glittering, esp with tinsel

noun

tinsel or imitation gold leaf

Word Origin for clinquant

C16: from French, from clinquer to clink, from Dutch klinken, of imitative origin

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