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Antonyms for meretricious

Grammar : Adj
Spell : mer-i-trish-uhs
Phonetic Transcription : ˌmɛr ɪˈtrɪʃ əs


Definition of meretricious

Origin :
  • 1620s, "pertaining to harlots," from Latin meretricius "of or pertaining to prostitutes," from meretrix (genitive meretricis) "prostitute," literally "woman who earns money," from merere, mereri "to earn, gain" (see merit (n.)). Meaning "gaudily alluring" is from 1630s. Related: Meretriciously; meretriciousness.
  • adj gaudy, flashy
Example sentences :
  • It is so beautiful that I'm dreadfully afraid it is meretricious.
  • Extract from : « A Venetian June » by Anna Fuller
  • There is not a meretricious or humiliating book in the whole collection.
  • Extract from : « The Greatest English Classic » by Cleland Boyd McAfee
  • There is nothing showy or clever, nothing cheap or meretricious in all their work.
  • Extract from : « Chats on Royal Copenhagen Porcelain » by Arthur Hayden
  • She was half-angry with him in the carriage, and said something about meretricious manners.
  • Extract from : « Barchester Towers » by Anthony Trollope
  • She fought against it from an instinctive feeling that it was meretricious.
  • Extract from : « Coquette » by Frank Swinnerton
  • But then it looked insincere, meretricious, affected, and always haggard.
  • Extract from : « The Way of Ambition » by Robert Hichens
  • Unlike his neighbor, Grieg, he is never mincing and meretricious.
  • Extract from : « Musical Portraits » by Paul Rosenfeld
  • The meretricious melodrama did not fool them, but they delighted in its absurdities.
  • Extract from : « The Plastic Age » by Percy Marks
  • Meretricious ornaments and manners were necessary to attract his attention.
  • Extract from : « Maria » by Mary Wollstonecraft
  • In painting he contented himself with a negative colour, and as the painter of mankind, rejected all meretricious ornament.
  • Extract from : « The Life and Writings of Henry Fuseli, Vol. II (of 3) » by Henry Fuseli

Synonyms for meretricious

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019