tinsel
Americannoun
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a glittering metallic substance, as copper or brass, in thin sheets, used in pieces, strips, threads, etc., to produce a sparkling effect cheaply.
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a metallic yarn, usually wrapped around a core yarn of silk, rayon, or cotton, for weaving brocade or lamé.
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anything showy or attractive with little or no real worth; showy pretense.
The actress was tired of the fantasy and tinsel of her life.
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Obsolete. a fabric, formerly in use, of silk or wool interwoven with threads of gold, silver, or, later, copper.
verb (used with object)
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to adorn with tinsel.
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to adorn with anything glittering.
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to make showy or gaudy.
noun
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a decoration consisting of a piece of string with thin strips of metal foil attached along its length
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a yarn or fabric interwoven with strands of glittering thread
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anything cheap, showy, and gaudy
verb
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to decorate with or as if with tinsel
snow tinsels the trees
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to give a gaudy appearance to
adjective
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made of or decorated with tinsel
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showily but cheaply attractive; gaudy
Other Word Forms
- overtinsel verb (used with object)
- tinsel-like adjective
- tinsellike adjective
- tinselly adjective
- untinseled adjective
- untinselled adjective
Etymology
Origin of tinsel
First recorded in 1495–1505; by shortening of Middle French estincelle ( Old French estincele ) “a spark, flash,” from Vulgar Latin stincilla, unrecorded variant of Latin scintilla; first used attributively in phrases tinsel satin, tinsel cloth; scintilla
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.
We didn’t have a Christmas tree, but we’d made paper chains in school, and Ma dug out our wispy old tinsel garlands.
From Literature
Her cheeks are pinked and her gray hair is pinned up, with ringlets descending like holiday tinsel.
From Literature
“The task was to create the tree, but make it different. So, you still love the tinsel, still love the colorful balls, and you still want lots of light,” Brown said.
From MarketWatch
"We bring in a few mince pieces, the site offices might have a bit of tinsel around," he says.
From BBC
But this year, her living room is an explosion of colour, bedecked with foil stars, tinsel and homemade paper chains and ribbon garlands.
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.
