adj

gaudy

GAW-dee

adj

Showy or overdecorated to the point of looking cheap or tasteless.

"She wore a gaudy gold necklace with fake gems the size of grapes."

"The hotel lobby was decorated in gaudy red-and-gold wallpaper."

noun

In British university tradition, a reunion dinner or feast held by an Oxford college for its former students.

"Alumni returned to Oxford for the annual gaudy in July."

How to Use Gaudy

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishToo flashy or over-decorated — bright, showy, and a bit much.

Common mistake

A popular claim that "gaudy" comes from the architect Gaudí is false; the word existed long before he was born.

Common pairings

gaudy colours gaudy jewellery gaudy decorations

Word Forms

gaudier comparative, gaudies plural, gaudies plural, gaudiest superlative

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She wore a _____ gold necklace with fake gems the size of grapes.

Etymology

Traced through Middle English gaudi, ultimately from Latin gaudia ("joys"), tied to the idea of ornaments or trinkets. It is not related to the architect Antoni Gaudí — despite a common myth, the word predates him by centuries.

Synonyms

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bedizened blingish blatant brash campy catchpenny chichi corny chintzy crass crude flaunting

Antonyms

unadorned

Related Words

crude bad brash raw rude camp blatant crass

Rhymes for gaudy

Judy Rudy study Trudy cloudy understudy

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bedizened blingish blatant brash campy catchpenny chichi corny chintzy crass crude flaunting