Gaudy

/ˈɡɔː.di/ · adjective

Meaning

Very showy or ornamented, now especially when excessive, or in a tasteless or vulgar manner..

Definitions by Sense

1. Very showy or ornamented, now especially when excessive, or in a tasteless or vulgar manner.
2. (obsolete) Fun; merry; festive.
3. (archaic) One of the large beads in the rosary at which the paternoster is recited.
4. (Oxford University) A reunion held by one of the colleges of the University of Oxford for alumni, normally during the long vacation.

Example Sentences

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, / But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy.

Though, I confeſs, Paris has its Charms; but to me they are like thoſe of a Coquette, gay and gavvdy; they ſerve to amuſe vvith, but a Man vvould not chuſe to be marry'd to them.

The rooms were lofty and handsome, and their furniture suitable to the fortune of its proprietor; but Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste, that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine; with less of splendour, and more real elegance, than the furniture of Rosings.

A faded, and an ancient dragon he was; and many a wintry storm of rain, snow, sleet, and hail, had changed his colour from a gaudy blue to a faint lack-lustre shade of gray.

A large gaudy, flowing cravat, and an ill-used silk hat, set well back on the wearer's head, completed this somewhat noticeable costume.

Gaudy jewellery might offend some people's sense of style. But former heavyweight champion and grilling-machine entrepreneur George Foreman is philosophical about today's craze for bling-bling.

Not to mention he was draped in those gaudy symbols.

Let's have one other gaudy night.

Synonyms for gaudy

Antonyms for gaudy

Related Words

Word Forms

• gaudier
• gaudiest
• gaudies

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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