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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Recent Examples of tawdry
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 18 Dec. 2024
Choosing the most wonderful time of the year as the time frame is clever and purposeful, too: For every twinkly Christmas tree and festive gathering, there’s a tawdry, dangerous scheme unfolding somewhere close by.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Trump’s tawdry parade Trump is just about the last person who can credibly criticize Biden’s pardon — which won’t stop him.
—Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Dec. 2024
The younger Biden had denied use of illicit drugs while filling out that form — a claim that was a lie, as some tawdry testimony at his trial made clear.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Adjective
Managers leapt at the chance to democratize theater and shed the tawdrier aspects of its reputation, and pantomime was a great way to do so.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 18 Dec. 2024
Choosing the most wonderful time of the year as the time frame is clever and purposeful, too: For every twinkly Christmas tree and festive gathering, there’s a tawdry, dangerous scheme unfolding somewhere close by.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Trump’s tawdry parade Trump is just about the last person who can credibly criticize Biden’s pardon — which won’t stop him.
—Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Dec. 2024
The younger Biden had denied use of illicit drugs while filling out that form — a claim that was a lie, as some tawdry testimony at his trial made clear.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tawdry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tawdry
Adjective
-
What is disconcerting is when campaign donors and friends & family have commuted sentences after they have been legally convicted of terrible financial crimes.—
Sanjeev Menon,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Skinner had a terrible time of it for much of the season.—
Allan Mitchell,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 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
-
But nothing has come to fruition yet because Robert's poor play has tanked his trade value.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
-
But academic research has consistently demonstrated that stadiums are poor drivers of economic growth and an analysis published last month found stadium projects spur little growth in local construction industries.—
Jonathan Shorman,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Before Minecraft, the turnout for major films at the box office has been middling to miserable.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Daryl was born in 1952, four years after the club’s last championship and just in time for four decades of miserable baseball on the lakeshore.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
But who has time for all of that frippery, anyway, when war’s a-comin’?—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
20 Dec. 2024
-
The British actor, almost as a counterpoint to the Nantucket frippery on display in the adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s chart-topping beach read, can now be found on the stage of the prestigious Almeida Theatre in Islington, North London.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Then, the rotten cherry on top: my lightweight pack, overburdened with water and ill-equipped for the task, created a patch of chafe that eventually bloomed into an open wound.—
Shawnté Salabert,
Outside Online,
28 Mar. 2025
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What rotten fortune all around, the best college player in the country – and the coolest – being ousted not by an upset but by injury.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Spectators got wind of the sensible footwear concealed by the Fiesta finery and began demanding to see the shoes.—
Jill Robbins,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2025
-
The King and Queen looked regal in their white-tie finery and blue Order of the Garter sashes then, with the Queen topping her look with the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Their tech lets clothing companies show off a wide variety of sizes and styles—and for a whole lot cheaper.—
Alexandra York,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
-
In Flacco and Pickett, the Browns have two veteran backups on cheap contracts signed only for 2025.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tawdry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tawdry. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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