as in conspicuous
formal + disapproving
attractive in a cheap or false way
meretricious beauty lacking in any real substance
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Recent Examples of meretricious
Denzel Washington stars as Macrinus, a meretricious arms dealer who own a stable of gladiators, while Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are brothers and ruling emperors.
—
Zoe Guy, Vulture, 1 July 2024
But as a character study, with Holocaust themes deepening the stakes of the domestic turmoil, the play holds up extremely well in its critique of a world that has lost its capacity for silence and that is prepared to sacrifice literature for meretricious distraction.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2024
The heads of banks, corporations, universities, law firms, foundations, and media companies were neither more nor less venal, meretricious, and greedy than their counterparts today.
—George Packer, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2011
The bullying tactics being used to sell this boondoggle are underhanded and meretricious.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
These shows raised the bar for musical drama and proved to Broadway that meretricious soullessness isn’t the only way.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2023
You’re left with a feeling of overwhelming perversity, of a kind of meretricious, insane God out there playing games.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2023
By condescending to the twins’ evident lack of cultural exposure, the media compound a circumstance that suggests remote parental influence — and dereliction of our rapaciously indifferent consumer culture that sells only what is new and meretricious.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 Aug. 2020
Today’s sleek, simple anti-It Bags, on the other hand, telegraph a less meretricious sort of chic.
—Fiorella Valdesolo, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2023
Zoe Guy, Vulture, 1 July 2024
But as a character study, with Holocaust themes deepening the stakes of the domestic turmoil, the play holds up extremely well in its critique of a world that has lost its capacity for silence and that is prepared to sacrifice literature for meretricious distraction.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2024
The heads of banks, corporations, universities, law firms, foundations, and media companies were neither more nor less venal, meretricious, and greedy than their counterparts today.
—George Packer, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2011
The bullying tactics being used to sell this boondoggle are underhanded and meretricious.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
These shows raised the bar for musical drama and proved to Broadway that meretricious soullessness isn’t the only way.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2023
You’re left with a feeling of overwhelming perversity, of a kind of meretricious, insane God out there playing games.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2023
By condescending to the twins’ evident lack of cultural exposure, the media compound a circumstance that suggests remote parental influence — and dereliction of our rapaciously indifferent consumer culture that sells only what is new and meretricious.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 Aug. 2020
Today’s sleek, simple anti-It Bags, on the other hand, telegraph a less meretricious sort of chic.
—Fiorella Valdesolo, WSJ, 7 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meretricious
Adjective
-
Costs have been driven in part by levies to prevent and insure against wildfires, but the analysts anticipate a less conspicuous source of pressure on power bills going forward: growing electricity demand from data centers.—
CalMatters,
The Mercury News,
19 Feb. 2025
-
If Hochul does fire Adams, Cuomo — who’s kept a careful distance from Adams and a conspicuous silence about his problems — would almost surely enter the mayor’s race as its frontrunner instead of running against Hochul next year to win back his old job.—
Harry Siegel,
New York Daily News,
15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The very fact that there is a debate to be had about which country has the advantage in this war shows a remarkable inversion in expectation.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Bollywood has seen some remarkable box office performances for re-releases in the past few months and the romantic movie, Sanam Teri Kasam is the latest one to lead the race.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The announcement has been viewed by over one million people on X (formerly known as Twitter) and had fans elated that the brilliant mind behind Succession was back in business with HBO for an original project.—
Russel Honoré,
Newsweek,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Schneider drew up a brilliant inbounds play for Conesa, who turned and fired an on-the-mark 3-pointer.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In the new court filing, phone records show Mortensen tried calling the other four roommates – but got no response – around the time when security camera from a residence close to the home picked up at 4:17 a.m. distorted audio of voices, a whimper, followed by a loud thud, and a barking dog.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN,
7 Mar. 2025
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At a festival where the moviegoers at Austin’s Paramount Theatre on Congress Avenue scream as loud as those at a Harry Styles concert, look for the Motion Picture Association to create waves.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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All of that increases the odds that the trade war will be more visible to Americans, disrupting supply chains and causing noticeable price hikes for certain items.—
Neil Irwin,
Axios,
5 Mar. 2025
-
There’s a wide range of cases available, with different aspects and capabilities—including some that partly overcome the 16e’s noticeable oversight: no MagSafe.—
David Phelan,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
That was a dramatic increase from the $32 million in sponsorship money the federation earned the year before.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
28 Feb. 2025
-
What Happens Next The dramatic turn of events could have far-reaching consequences in Europe and beyond.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In another striking display of Ukrainian air power on or just before Thursday, a robotic Aeroprakt A-22 bomber, presumably flown by the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, flew low over Bryansk under the cover of darkness and dropped a 550-pound bomb on a Russian installation.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Soon after the striking Oval Office meeting, a host of European leaders took to social media to express their support for Ukraine.—
Brian Bennett,
TIME,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Proceeds from the sale will go to partially pre-pay outstanding bank loans, according to ABS-CBN, which has shrunk in size and been losing money since Congress didn't renew its broadcasting franchise in 2020.—
Ian Sayson,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Following his legal victory in the Corby case, Collins was awarded outstanding case of the year at the Personal Injury Awards in 2009.—
Lynsey Eidell,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to meretricious
Cite this Entry
“Meretricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meretricious. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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