tacky
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -æki
Adjective edit
tacky (comparative tackier, superlative tackiest)
- Of a substance, slightly sticky.
- Hypernyms: see Thesaurus:adhesive
- This paint isn't dry yet; it's still a bit tacky.
Translations edit
slightly sticky
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Etymology 2 edit
Sense “in poor taste” from 1888, from earlier sense meaning shabby or seedy. Also see tackey (“neglected horse”), Southern US colloquialism from 1800s, later extended to people.
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -æki
Adjective edit
tacky (comparative tackier, superlative tackiest)
- (colloquial) Of low quality.
- That market stall sells all sorts of tacky ornaments.
- (colloquial) In poor taste.
- That was a tacky thing to say.
- Gaudy or flashy.
- 1967, S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders:
- Steve Randle was seventeen, tall and lean, with thick greasy hair he kept combed in complicated swirls. He was tacky, smart, and Soda's best buddy since grade school.
- Shabby, dowdy in one's appearance or dress.
- Synonym: dowdy
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
colloquial: of low quality
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colloquial: in bad taste
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gaudy, flashy, showy, garish
dowdy, shabbily dressed
dowdy, shabby (in one's appearance)
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Noun edit
tacky (plural tackies)
- Alternative form of tackey