gaudy

[gaw-dee] / ˈgɔ di /

ADJECTIVE

bright and vulgar

Synonyms

STRONGEST

brilliant flashy garish jazzy ostentatious showy snazzy splashy

STRONG

chichi crude gay gross pizazz screaming tinsel

WEAK

blatant brazen catchpenny chintzy coarse flaunting florid froufrou glaring gussied up kitschy loud meretricious obtrusive pretentious putting on the ritz raffish ritzy splendiferous tasteless tawdry

Antonyms

STRONGEST

modest normal plain simple tasteful

WEAK

calm drab dull refined sophisticated

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For those who think of late-career Elvis Presley as only a plump has-been, a gaudy Las Vegas crooner slinging schlock in the 1970s, Baz Luhrmann’s new movie is a bracing corrective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

After the family relocates to Connecticut from New York, Delia can’t help but turn their quaint, historical home into a gaudy spectacle full of terrible, modern-gothic artwork.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

New casinos sprang up, alongside gaudy, luxury hotels and apartment blocks.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025

The compensation is unprecedented, but investors have chosen this type of gaudy compensation for Musk in the past.

From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025

I put on my gaudy red finery, and was driven with Shusgis to the supper-party in his chauffeured private car.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Vocabulary lists containing gaudy

List 6

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Fast Food Nation

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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"

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