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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Dissimilar Words
as in trumpery
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tawdry
Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025
Even more intriguingly, the documentary turns her into an avatar for all things contemporary Las Vegas, embodying the real-life challenges experienced by real-life Las Vegas residents who exist with a tawdry version of glitz and glamour that’s on the horizon but not quite accessible.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
The emails were the last straw for the House of Windsor after years of tawdry headlines about Andrew’s dodgy friends and suspicious business deals.
—CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Those are the experiences, people say, that built the man's character, not the tawdry details of one moment in time.
—Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Adjective
Soon enough, George realizes his wholesome American town has become Pottersville, a tawdry neon strip that looks like a 1940s fever dream of vice—all neon lights, garish bars, dancing girls, and desperation.
—Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025
Even more intriguingly, the documentary turns her into an avatar for all things contemporary Las Vegas, embodying the real-life challenges experienced by real-life Las Vegas residents who exist with a tawdry version of glitz and glamour that’s on the horizon but not quite accessible.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
The emails were the last straw for the House of Windsor after years of tawdry headlines about Andrew’s dodgy friends and suspicious business deals.
—CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Those are the experiences, people say, that built the man's character, not the tawdry details of one moment in time.
—Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tawdry
Adjective
-
America just passed the 50th anniversary of one of its truly terrible days — one that future historians can track as the beginning of the end of our democracy.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Busch was terrible defensively at third.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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
-
Semmann said stores raise prices primarily in response to supply chain issues, such as poor harvests, changes to international trade policy or increasing logistical costs.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Boating conditions are poor across offshore waters south of Cape Canaveral, while small craft need to exercise caution near the inlets.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
None of the 95 rooms at this palatial property, which first opened in the 1860s, is the same, and the decor is an eccentric mishmash that combines every era since then, from Victorian fripperies to sinuously streamlined Art Nouveau.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
28 July 2025
-
In tonight’s episode, Aurora has more to worry about than mere frippery.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Wearing them for an hour is miserable, let alone a whole day.—
Reece Andavolgyi,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
-
And finally, the charges dismissed but his family gone, Campbell won a miserable kind of freedom.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Guests, including model Isobel Richmond, ballet dancer Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Lady Amelia Windsor, showed up in full McDowell finery to support.—
Violet Goldstone,
Footwear News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Because pretty much everywhere else but the Kennedy Center on this frigid winter night, the country was more focused on fury than finery.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Try to get a look below the surface—if anything is broken, damaged, rotten, or desiccated, a simple trim could help.—
Ashley Chalmers,
The Spruce,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Repairs to the balcony included removing and replacing rotten support beams, according to an invoice from Ameridian.—
Gillian Stawiszynski,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
For many Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas, sitting out the foofaraw while the whole country conducts Christmas consumption is an annual dose of alienation.—
Amanda Mull,
The Atlantic,
23 Nov. 2020
-
No foofaraw: Of course a cleric—in Chih’s case, one who belongs to a holy order tasked with traveling the land and collecting stories—wouldn’t concern themself with gender.—
WIRED Staff,
Wired,
29 Sep. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Tawdry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tawdry. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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