Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)

garish

adjective

1. crudely or tastelessly colorful, showy, or elaborate, as clothes or decoration.
   Synonyms: tawdry, loud
2. excessively ornate or elaborate, as buildings or writings.
3. dressed in or ornamented with bright colors.
4. excessively bright; glaring.

/ ˈɡɛərɪʃ /

adjective

1. gay or colourful in a crude or vulgar manner; gaudy

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Derived Forms

• ˈgarishly, adverb
• ˈgarishness, noun

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Other Words From

• garish·ly adverb
• garish·ness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of garish1

1535–45;

earlier

gaurish,

perhaps equivalent to obsolete

gaure

“to stare” ( Middle English gauren, from Old Norse ) + -ish 1

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Word History and Origins

Origin of garish1

C16: from earlier gaure to stare +

-ish

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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

The living room she sits in is filled with knick-knacks and family photos, amid a garish clash of of geometric beige wallpaper, turquoise walls and a patterned red carpet.

The garish look and homogenized feel of the show directly informed the way future Disney Channel hits like “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Sonny With a Chance” would appear.

His performance is garish but there’s something about him that just wears you down over the course of two hours — one must simply submit to his comedic ministrations.

The courtroom is tired and shabby, the antithesis of the garish surroundings that are so important to Trump.

Mike Love is sitting in a blah-looking room in a Sheraton hotel in North Carolina, the garish pattern of his signature Hawaiian shirt popping against the ochre wallpaper behind him.