gaudy

¹

[gaw-dee]

adjective

gaudier, gaudiest 

1. brilliantly or excessively showy.

   gaudy plumage.

2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.

   Synonyms: obvious, conspicuous, loud, tawdry
   Antonyms: sober, modest

3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.

gaudy

²

[gaw-dee]

noun

British.

plural

gaudies 

1. a festival or celebration, especially an annual college feast.

gaudy

¹

/ ˈɡɔːdɪ /

adjective

1. gay, bright, or colourful in a crude or vulgar manner; garish

gaudy

²

/ ˈɡɔːdɪ /

noun

1. a celebratory festival or feast held at some schools and colleges

Other Word Forms

• gaudily adverb
• gaudiness noun
• ungaudily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of gaudy¹

First recorded in 1520–30; originally attributive use of gaudy ² ( def. ); later taken as a derivative of gaud ( def. )

Origin of gaudy²

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin gaudium joy, delight

Word History and Origins

Origin of gaudy¹

C16: from _gaud

Origin of gaudy²

C16: from Latin gaudium joy, from gaudēre to rejoice

Synonym Study

Gaudy, flashy, garish, showy agree in the idea of conspicuousness and, often, bad taste. That which is gaudy challenges the eye, as by brilliant colors or evident cost, and is not in good taste: a gaudy hat. Flashy suggests insistent and vulgar display, in rather a sporty manner: a flashy necktie. Garish suggests a glaring brightness, or crude vividness of color, and too much ornamentation: garish decorations. Showy applies to that which is strikingly conspicuous, but not necessarily offensive to good taste: a garden of showy flowers; a showy dress.

Example Sentences

The writer Morrow Mayo seldom minced words, especially when his subject was the gaudy, tawdry city where he made his home in the 1920s and 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times

Real money announces itself by being the gaudiest in any room.

From Salon

It does not seek the new, but demands endless repetition of the same themes, merely with greater elaboration, gaudier technical effects and greater expense.

From Salon

While the author does state that these cakes require “skill, artistry, and impressive amounts of labor to create,” she’s quick to trash them as “gaudy, boring, and somewhat infantilizing.”

From Salon

At first glance, the Jesus Army seemed a "happy-clappy" church set in the Northamptonshire countryside, with two- or three thousand members, a gaudy military-style uniform, and a fleet of rainbow-coloured battle buses.

From BBC

Related Words

• brilliant 
• flashy 
• garish 
• jazzy 
• ostentatious 
• showy 
• snazzy 
• splashy