variants
also geegaw
as in ornamental
a small object displayed for its attractiveness or interest
had a shelf devoted just to gewgaws featuring his favorite team's mascot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gewgaw
Words that foiled spellers included chrysal, athanor, cloxacillin, heliconius, torticollis, platylepadid and gewgaw, and at one point judges had to review a video replay to determine whether a speller said the letter I or Y.
—
New York Times, 9 July 2021
And how nice to see Cynthia Erivo — to really see the woman and not have her overwhelmed by an elaborate mishmash of ruffles and gewgaws.
—Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2020
Loaded to the gills with all-wheel drive, digital gewgaws and two-tone leather interior, my racy coupe stickered for $62,000 — a healthy $20,000 cheaper than a comparable BMW M4 coupe.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 28 Dec. 2019
Giveaways are a universal phenomenon, but Silicon Valley has made free gewgaws and gadgets an integral part of its culture.
—Owen Thomas, SFChronicle.com, 24 July 2019
The nihilistic gewgaw, vacuous and vulgar, instead embodies the mythos that can be manufactured in a crude market-culture that primarily values art as a luxury asset.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2019
Graphics: Your choice of desktop-class RTX 2060, 2070, or 2080
Display: Your choice of four 17.3-inch FHD (1920x1080) displays, with or without touch, with or without gewgaws like Tobii eye-tracking.
—Melissa Riofrio, PCWorld, 8 Jan. 2019
Bookstores should be designed to bring us closer together, not modeled after an open prairie dotted with books and assorted gewgaws — puzzles, Lego kits, Polaroid cameras.
—John Warner, chicagotribune.com, 6 June 2018
Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney have all won Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and countless other prizes and gewgaws in the weeks leading up to the Oscars.
—Glenn Whipp, latimes.com, 20 Feb. 2018
New York Times, 9 July 2021
And how nice to see Cynthia Erivo — to really see the woman and not have her overwhelmed by an elaborate mishmash of ruffles and gewgaws.
—Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2020
Loaded to the gills with all-wheel drive, digital gewgaws and two-tone leather interior, my racy coupe stickered for $62,000 — a healthy $20,000 cheaper than a comparable BMW M4 coupe.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 28 Dec. 2019
Giveaways are a universal phenomenon, but Silicon Valley has made free gewgaws and gadgets an integral part of its culture.
—Owen Thomas, SFChronicle.com, 24 July 2019
The nihilistic gewgaw, vacuous and vulgar, instead embodies the mythos that can be manufactured in a crude market-culture that primarily values art as a luxury asset.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2019
Graphics: Your choice of desktop-class RTX 2060, 2070, or 2080
Display: Your choice of four 17.3-inch FHD (1920x1080) displays, with or without touch, with or without gewgaws like Tobii eye-tracking.
—Melissa Riofrio, PCWorld, 8 Jan. 2019
Bookstores should be designed to bring us closer together, not modeled after an open prairie dotted with books and assorted gewgaws — puzzles, Lego kits, Polaroid cameras.
—John Warner, chicagotribune.com, 6 June 2018
Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney have all won Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and countless other prizes and gewgaws in the weeks leading up to the Oscars.
—Glenn Whipp, latimes.com, 20 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gewgaw
Noun
-
The beds are planted with a mix of edibles and ornamentals that can be enjoyed from the sitting area.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Prune ornamental grasses to within a foot or two of the ground before growth begins.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Moscow — Russian investigators have prevented a giant meteorite fragment being smuggled to Britain disguised as a garden ornament, the Federal Customs Service reported Thursday.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Madeline is newer still, having purchased her first kit just over a year ago to stitch Christmas ornaments for her niece.—
Julianna Chen,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Rather than styling these eye-catching picks with, say, a gold-lamé number, nod at the ’80s in a more contemporary way with oversized blazers, pleated pants, relaxed button-downs, and cigarette jeans; these baubles stand out against a more understated backdrop.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Gold baubles and hardware have been a fixture in Schiaparelli’s surreal denim pieces.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In 2022, Mimosa Echard won the Prix Marcel Duchamp and exhibited the installation Escape more at the Centre Pompidou in Paris—a display consisting of glass walls, streams of water and urine, pollen, ginkgo tree eggs, newsprint, films, and assorted tchotchkes, among other items.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Taylor then lights a cigarette, sets the tchotchkes aflame, and fury-walks out the door.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gewgaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gewgaw. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
