as in terrible
marked by low quality and unbecoming appearance
We tolerate the neighbors' tawdry Christmas display during the holidays, but by January we're about sick of it.
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as in trumpery
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Recent Examples of tawdry
Ed Wallace, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.
—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Yet perverting that good news story into some tawdry political gain cheapens SpaceX, NASA, and Wilmore and Williams.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Mar. 2025
He was best known as a filmmaker — using his lens to unearth the tawdry, decayed and bizarre beneath the surface of mundane reality.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Adjective
The rescue of the redevelopment of the tawdry Coliseum site, the city’s third-rate convention center at Columbus Circle, is a stunning example of his skill at design and communication.
—Ed Wallace, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.
—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Yet perverting that good news story into some tawdry political gain cheapens SpaceX, NASA, and Wilmore and Williams.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Mar. 2025
He was best known as a filmmaker — using his lens to unearth the tawdry, decayed and bizarre beneath the surface of mundane reality.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tawdry
Adjective
-
And these are the same Oilers who, after a terrible 6-1 loss in Game 3 to the Panthers, overcame a three-goal deficit in Game 4 to even the series.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
15 June 2025
-
For example, while the IRA rollback effort will inevitably mean a significant reduction in U.S. federal support for electric vehicles, nevertheless the adoption of EVs continued in Q1 even despite a terrible quarter for the U.S.’s leading brand (Tesla).—
Rob Day,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
Noun
-
What was the strategic benefit to the US of all this geopolitical trumpery?—
Peter Bergen,
CNN,
28 May 2022
-
So will the border continue to vanish in the face of nativist backlash and a trumpery, gimcrack wall?—
Felipe Fernández-Armesto,
WSJ,
25 June 2018
Adjective
-
Most cited poor digital offerings or a lack of services and products.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
5 June 2025
-
The risk extends even to children due to increasing rates of childhood obesity and poor dietary habits.20 As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthy adults have their lipids checked every four to six years.—
MD Published,
Verywell Health,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
The day started again, but a second voice joined the miserable monologue, pushing me to plant beets instead of flowers.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
8 June 2025
-
The win vaulted Miami from sixth to third in MLS standings and felt like a turning point— not just a singular game, but a season statement after a miserable May.—
Kaitlyn Pohly,
Miami Herald,
1 June 2025
Noun
-
Buying the Original marks you as a practical person who cares not for frippery.—
Matthew Korfhage,
Wired News,
19 Apr. 2025
-
But who has time for all of that frippery, anyway, when war’s a-comin’?—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
On scorching days when winds blow across the California desert, the Salton Sea regularly gives off a stench of decay resembling rotten eggs.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
-
Not only was President Joe Biden in serious decline, Karine Jean-Pierre — celebrated in numerous fawning media profiles — was a rotten White House press secretary.—
Rich Lowry,
National Review,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
On Friday, May 2, Black designers based in Charlotte will burst on the scene in finery, in flash and pomp during an evening-long showcase.—
Lisa Vernon Sparks,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2025
-
Standing in 18th-century finery, and with his glasses shoved up to his forehead (as was Henry’s habit), Tucker was videotaped standing in the very spot Henry did — the nearby St. John’s Church in Richmond, four miles east — 250 years ago.—
John Hanc,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This means some fans will be watching Messi for as little as $4, which is a far cry from the cheapest seats being cast at $349 when the draw was made in December.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
14 June 2025
-
The index factors in basic leisure costs, such as cable and streaming subscriptions, and trips to the six movies and two MLB games per year in the cheap seats.—
Ryan Ermey,
CNBC,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tawdry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tawdry. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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