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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Example Sentences
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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
-
Kids these days have attention spans crushed under the terrible weight of TikTok and Instgram.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
-
The veto was a terrible blow to the cause of reparations, which has been gaining momentum across the country despite the Trump administration, which seems hell-bent on sending America backwards.—
Robert Turner,
Baltimore Sun,
2 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
-
Programs like food aid for poor children, health care for seniors, and subsidies for day-to-day needs are in the balance.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Angels left-hander began the season as one of their high leverage relievers, but a miserable outing in the season’s first week told him something wasn’t right.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
26 May 2025
-
Power wound up 19th, the highest-finishing Penske driver on a miserable day for the organization owned by Roger Penske.—
Jenna Fryer,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 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
-
However, compost can start to smell like rotten eggs, ammonia, or worse if the composting process goes awry or the compost pile has become imbalanced in some way.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 May 2025
-
There are two types of repellents: Taste, which often contains capsaicin and requires the animal to take a nibble; and odor, which is sulfur-based and smells like rotten eggs.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
10 May 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
-
Matthew Whelan, executive director of the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce, suggests visiting on a weekday when possible; parking will be easier to find, and beach badges are cheaper ($7/day/person, instead of $10).—
Rachel Chang,
AFAR Media,
2 June 2025
-
Cremation, increasingly popular, is cheaper: good for the customer, less so for the bottom line.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tawdry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tawdry. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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