gaudy

¹

[gaw-dee]

adjective

gaudier, gaudiest 

1. brilliantly or excessively showy.

   gaudy plumage.

2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.

   Synonyms: obvious, conspicuous, loud, tawdry
   Antonyms: sober, modest

3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.

gaudy

²

[gaw-dee]

noun

British.

plural

gaudies 

1. a festival or celebration, especially an annual college feast.

gaudy

¹

/ ˈɡɔːdɪ /

adjective

1. gay, bright, or colourful in a crude or vulgar manner; garish

gaudy

²

/ ˈɡɔːdɪ /

noun

1. a celebratory festival or feast held at some schools and colleges

Other Word Forms

• gaudily adverb
• gaudiness noun
• ungaudily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of gaudy¹

First recorded in 1520–30; originally attributive use of gaudy ² ( def. ); later taken as a derivative of gaud ( def. )

Origin of gaudy²

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin gaudium joy, delight

Word History and Origins

Origin of gaudy¹

C16: from _gaud

Origin of gaudy²

C16: from Latin gaudium joy, from gaudēre to rejoice

Synonym Study

Gaudy, flashy, garish, showy agree in the idea of conspicuousness and, often, bad taste. That which is gaudy challenges the eye, as by brilliant colors or evident cost, and is not in good taste: a gaudy hat. Flashy suggests insistent and vulgar display, in rather a sporty manner: a flashy necktie. Garish suggests a glaring brightness, or crude vividness of color, and too much ornamentation: garish decorations. Showy applies to that which is strikingly conspicuous, but not necessarily offensive to good taste: a garden of showy flowers; a showy dress.

Example Sentences

Four years after Lincoln Riley arrived at USC amid gaudy promises to return the football program to national prominence, well, two words.

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“Let her sell some of her gaudy rings to pay for the trip, then! Someone, get me a knife! I will chop off those crooked fingers myself!”

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And there was his new man in an ill-fitting suit and gaudy tie, puffing on a pipe like a kid with a theater prop.

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Baken and Baitz’s previous effort coagulated into some sorta cultural critique about the nation going to Hell, while “All’s Fair” celebrates some of the people sending us there in a shameless parade of gaudy excess.

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During a broadcast this week of “The Five,” Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov took aim at the president’s plan to build a grand ballroom in the White House, calling it “gaudy and self-indulgent.”

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Related Words

• brilliant 
• flashy 
• garish 
• jazzy 
• ostentatious 
• showy 
• snazzy 
• splashy