meretricious
Gaudy but hollow
Meretricious describes something superficially attractive but lacking real value or integrity—flashy in a cheap or deceptive way.
A meretricious argument dazzles without substance; meretricious décor looks expensive but is tasteless.
The word originally meant "of or relating to prostitutes," and that sense of false allure persists: meretricious charm, a meretricious display of wealth.
Showy, often tastelessly so
- garishTastelessly showy
- tawdryCheaply ornate and vulgar
- glitzyShowily eye-catching
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
vulgar · brassy · kitschy · tacky · chintzy · loud · tasteless · cheap
Superficially plausible but flawed
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- falseNot matching reality
- shamFraudulent imitation
counterfeit · insincere · duplicitous · disingenuous · fallacious · phony · bogus · deceitful
Powerfully attractive, tempting
- enticingPowerfully attractive
- temptingArousing desire or interest
- provocativeMeant to provoke response
- sultryHot, humid, or alluring
captivating · bewitching · inviting · luring · beguiling · tantalizing · siren · coquettish
flashy
Showy, often tastelessly so
ostentatious · vulgar · brassy · kitschy · tacky · chintzy · loud · tasteless · cheap · trashy
specious
Superficially plausible but flawed
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- falseNot matching reality
sham · counterfeit · insincere · duplicitous · disingenuous · fallacious · phony · bogus · deceitful · fraudulent
seductive
Powerfully attractive, tempting
- enticingPowerfully attractive
- temptingArousing desire or interest
- provocativeMeant to provoke response
sultry · captivating · bewitching · inviting · luring · beguiling · tantalizing · siren · coquettish · come-hither
- fancy wordsgrandiloquent, magniloquent, sesquipedalian, pulchritudinous, tintinnabulation
- Kitschkitsch, kitschy, tacky, gaudy, garish
- fakefake, phony, bogus, sham, counterfeit
- flashyshowy, flamboyant, glitzy, gaudy, garish
meretricioustasteful
Aesthetically appropriate and pleasing
elegant · refined · classy · understated · restrained