tinselly

American  

[tin-suh-lee] / ˈtɪn sə li /

adjective

1. decorated with or abounding in tinsel.

2. cheap and gaudy.

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Etymology

Origin of tinselly

First recorded in 1805–15; tinsel + -y ¹

Example Sentences

It’s a magpie movie that’s happy to give audiences the tinselly things they want — i.e., two robots clobbering the Wi-Fi out of each other.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2025

“Upstairs” meant the museum’s fourth and fifth floors, where “Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle,” on view through Feb. 19, is currently offering perhaps the city’s most glittery, tinselly, witty display of bling this holiday season.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2022

They were a bit cringeworthy, I thought, but I wanted a tinselly, childlike vibe for an evening house party.

From Washington Post • Nov. 29, 2022

Still, as he reaches his 70th birthday, Wood’s is an oeuvre that’s ripe for rediscovery and reassessment: the sound of Britain’s great lost pop genius lurks just behind the familiar tinselly facade.

From The Guardian • Nov. 8, 2016

A Punch and Judy were acting on a little stage during the procession, surrounded by children of all sizes and ages decked out in costumes, their tinselly flowers showing off their thin and sallow faces.

From In the Courts of Memory, 1858 1875; from Contemporary Letters by Hegermann-Lindencrone, L. de (Lillie de)