Gaudy
WordNet
adjective
(1) (used especially of clothes) marked by conspicuous display
(2) Tastelessly showy
"A flash car"
"A flashy ring"
"Garish colors"
"A gaudy costume"
"Loud sport shirts"
"A meretricious yet stylish book"
"Tawdry ornaments"
noun
(3) A celebratory feast held annually at one of the colleges in a British university
WiktionaryText
Etymology 1
Origin uncertain; perhaps from , itself perhaps from Old French gaudir "to rejoice".
Adjective
- Very showy or ornamented, now especially when excessive, or in a tasteless or vulgar manner.
- 2005, Thomas Hauser & Marilyn Cole Lownes, "How Bling-bling Took Over the Ring", The Observer, 9 January 2005:
- 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.
- 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice:
- 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.
- 2005, Thomas Hauser & Marilyn Cole Lownes, "How Bling-bling Took Over the Ring", The Observer, 9 January 2005:
Noun
- A reunion held by one of the colleges of the University of Oxford for alumni, normally held during the summer vacations.