| Gaudy \GA-dee or GAW-dee\ (adjective) - 1 : Extravagantly showy, dazzling, possibly tastelessly so. 2 : (noun) A gala festival or entertainment celebrating some event.
"Theresa takes great pride in her South American origins, dressing in gaudy clothes every day."
There is an old noun gaud = "a showy bauble, trinket, ornament" from which "gaudy" itself was derived. "Gaudiness" is the noun derived from "gaudy." Gaudy is the most positive of the four near synonyms "gaudy," "flashy," "meretricious," and "tawdry." "Flashy" implies shallowness, while "meretricious" suggests falseness and misrepresentation. "Tawdry" suggests cheapness and sleaziness. "Gaudy" implies excess, clashing colors that may or may not be outlandish. From Old French gaudir "to rejoice, make merry, to jest, scoff at" from late Latin gaudre "to rejoice." Latin gaudium "joy, happiness." Akin to Greek ganusthai "to rejoice" with an infixed "n." |
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