What does tawdriness mean?
Tawdriness means the quality of being tawdry: conspicuously flashy, cheaply made, or vulgar in appearance. It is especially associated with clothing, jewelry, decoration, architecture, theatrical display, and other forms of conspicuous presentation. The term is more pointed than simply saying that something lacks taste, because it suggests an active excess of gaudiness or vulgar display rather than mere simplicity. It can also carry a sense of shabbiness, especially when something ostentatious is revealed to be poorly made or cheaply imitative. In critical writing, tawdriness may refer to the character of an entire performance, event, or social scene. The word is relatively uncommon and formal in register, so it is especially effective when the writer wishes to label an excess as both conspicuous and aesthetically embarrassing.
nounThe quality of being tawdry, especially of being cheaply ornamental, gaudy, or shabby. The word is chiefly used to criticize conspicuous displays of bad or vulgar taste.
- The quality of being tawdry; vulgar gaudiness, especially in clothing, decoration, or display.
"She disliked the tawdriness of the gilt furniture, which made the room feel more like a stage set than a home."
"The tawdriness of the performers' costumes undermined the production's claim to historical realism."
"His critique focused less on individual flaws than on the general tawdriness of the affair."
Normally an uncountable noun; it has no standard plural form.
"The critic described the ceremony as a spectacle of tawdriness."
Tawdriness is style turned inside out: conspicuous enough to notice, but cheap enough to undermine the display.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tawdriness come from?
The word derives from the obsolete adjective tawed, meaning dressed or prepared like tawed leather, formed from the older verb taw, “to tan or dress leather.” The adjective tawdry originally conveyed a disparaging sense of cheap, glossy, or gaudy material before acquiring its broader modern meaning. The noun tawdriness was formed by adding the suffix -ness to this adjective.
How tawdriness is actually used
This is a relatively uncommon, chiefly literary or formal noun with a strongly evaluative, derogatory tone. It is more specific than the general notion of bad taste because it often implies conspicuous, vulgar, or cheaply ornamental display.