CEFR B2

meretricious

adjective

Meaning

meretricious means tastelessly gaudy; superficially attractive but having in reality no value or substance; falsely alluring. It can have more than one sense, so use the alternate meanings and examples to choose the meaning that matches your sentence.

Examples

The writer described the response as meretricious.
A meretricious tone can change the mood of a conversation.

Synonyms: brassy, cheap, flashy, garish, gaudy

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meretricious (B2)

adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌmɛɹəˈtɹɪʃəs/

Definition

Examples

The writer described the response as meretricious.
A meretricious tone can change the mood of a conversation.
The situation became meretricious after the announcement.

How to Use meretricious

meretricious + noun (collocation): Use meretricious before a noun to describe that quality. — "The writer described a meretricious reaction."
become meretricious (collocation): Use after become, seem, or be for a state or quality. — "The discussion became meretricious near the end."

Synonyms of meretricious

Words with a similar meaning to meretricious:

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