kitsch
Gaudy sentimental art
Kitsch is art, décor, or design considered tacky, garish, or in poor taste—often mass-produced, sentimental, or appealing to lowbrow sensibilities: lawn flamingos and other kitsch, the kitsch of velvet Elvis paintings.
What counts as kitsch shifts with time and taste; yesterday's kitsch becomes today's ironic collectible.
As an adjective, kitschy: a kitschy souvenir shop.
Tastelessly ornate
- garishTastelessly showy
- tawdryCheaply ornate and vulgar
- tackyVulgar or slightly sticky
- vulgarCrude or indecent
flashy · loud · showy · chintzy · overdone · glitzy · brash · crass
Small worthless ornament
- souvenirToken from a trip
- figurineSmall ornamental sculpture
- tchotchkeSmall decorative trifle
- knickknackSmall decorative object
ornament · bauble · curio · bric-a-brac · collectible · memento · novelty · gewgaw
Excessively and insincerely sentimental
- maudlinExcessively tearful sentiment
- saccharineExaggeratedly sentimental
- sappyExcessively sentimental
- cloyingExcessively sweet or sentimental
syrupy · corny · weepy · nostalgic · tearjerker · precious · sentimental · treacly
Expressing contrary meaning
- parodySatirical imitation
- dragResistance through fluid
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
- burlesqueExaggerated mockery or risqué variety
exaggerated · over-the-top · melodramatic · satirical · self-aware · tongue-in-cheek · campy · flamboyant
Showy worthless articles
- fripperyShowy, worthless adornment
- trumperyShowy nonsense or trinkets
- hokumContrived sentimental rubbish
- schlockLow-quality merchandise
rubbish · junk · trash · garbage · worthless · frivolous · superficial · trivial
Quality from past eras
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- mid-centuryHalfway through a hundred
- groovySixties slang for cool
- psychedelicInducing altered perception
vinyl · eight-track · polaroid · jukebox · Americana · diner · fifties · sixties
gaudy
Tastelessly ornate
vulgar · flashy · loud · showy · chintzy · overdone · glitzy · brash · crass · tasteless
trinket
Small worthless ornament
knickknack · ornament · bauble · curio · bric-a-brac · collectible · memento · novelty · gewgaw · doodad
schmaltzy
Excessively and insincerely sentimental
- maudlinExcessively tearful sentiment
- saccharineExaggeratedly sentimental
- sappyExcessively sentimental
cloying · syrupy · corny · weepy · nostalgic · tearjerker · precious · sentimental · treacly · sugary
ironic
Expressing contrary meaning
- parodySatirical imitation
- dragResistance through fluid
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
burlesque · exaggerated · over-the-top · melodramatic · satirical · self-aware · tongue-in-cheek · campy · flamboyant · extravagant
gimcrackery
Showy worthless articles
- fripperyShowy, worthless adornment
- trumperyShowy nonsense or trinkets
- hokumContrived sentimental rubbish
schlock · rubbish · junk · trash · garbage · worthless · frivolous · superficial · trivial · empty
vintage
Quality from past eras
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- mid-centuryHalfway through a hundred
- groovySixties slang for cool
psychedelic · vinyl · eight-track · polaroid · jukebox · Americana · diner · fifties · sixties · seventies
- lowbrowreality TV, tabloids, gossip magazines, trash TV, celebrity gossip
- borrowed wordschic, naive, passe, avant-garde, faux
- film termsfilm, auteur, genre, celluloid, mise-en-scene
- German Loanwordsangst, blitzkrieg, doppelganger, gesundheit, kaput
- German Wordsdie, in, an, auf, von
- tackinesstackiness, gaudiness, garishness, tawdriness, trashiness
kitschelegant
Gracefully refined, tasteful
refined · tasteful · sophisticated · exquisite · understated
kitschhigh art
Culturally elevated creative works
fine art · art · masterpiece · genuine · original
kitschhighbrow
Intellectually or artistically sophisticated
cultured · cultivated · canonical · elite · connoisseurship