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meretricious - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'meretricious' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Meretricious [ a.]
- Of or pertaining to prostitutes; having to do with harlots; lustful; as, meretricious traffic.
- Resembling the arts of a harlot; alluring by false show; gaudily and deceitfully ornamental; tawdry; as, meretricious dress or ornaments.

Meaning of 'meretricious' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . meretricious [ a]
Meaning (1):
- like or relating to a prostitute
Example in sentence:
  • meretricious relationships
2 . meretricious [ s]
Meaning (2):
- tastelessly showy
Example in sentence:
  • a flash car;
  • a flashy ring;
  • a gaudy costume;
  • a meretricious yet stylish book;
  • garish colors;
  • loud sport shirts;
  • tawdry ornaments
Meaning (3):
- based on pretense; deceptively pleasing
Example in sentence:
  • a meretricious argument;
  • meretricious praise;
  • the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility

Nearby Words:

meracious mercable mercantile mercaptal mercaptan mercaptide mercat mercatante mercator's chart mercature

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