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tacky

adjective

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L28398 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈtæki/

adj

Etymology: 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.

  1. Of low quality.

    That market stall sells all sorts of tacky ornaments.

  2. In poor taste.

    That was a tacky thing to say.

  3. Gaudy or flashy.

    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.

  4. Shabby, dowdy in one's appearance or dress.

noun

Etymology: 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.

  1. Alternative form of tackey.