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View synonyms for

tacky

1

[ tak-ee ]

adjective

tackier, tackiest.
  1. sticky to the touch; adhesive.


tacky

2

[ tak-ee ]

adjective

tackier, tackiest.
  1. not tasteful or fashionable; dowdy.
  2. shabby in appearance; shoddy:

    a tacky, jerry-built housing development.

  3. crass; cheaply vulgar; tasteless; crude.
  4. gaudy; flashy; showy.

tacky

1

/ ˈæɪ /

adjective

  1. slightly sticky or adhesive

    the varnish was still tacky

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tacky

2

/ ˈæɪ /

adjective

  1. shabby or shoddy
  2. ostentatious and vulgar
  3. (of a person) dowdy; seedy
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈٲ쾱Ա, noun
  • ˈٲ쾱, adverb
  • ˈٲ쾱Ա, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • ٲi·Ա noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tacky1

First recorded in 1780–90; tack 1 + -y 1

Origin of tacky2

1880–85, Americanism; apparently identical with earlier tack(e)y small horse, pony, poor farmer; of obscure origin
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tacky1

C18: from tack 1(in the sense: stickiness)

Origin of tacky2

C19: from dialect tacky an inferior horse, of unknown origin
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

You ought to write me even if I’m tacky and I don’t write.

From

To her, her longtime gig at the Razzle Dazzle isn’t just some tacky nudie show — it’s “the last descendant of Parisian Lido culture.”

From

Tom Cruise’s motorcycle tour from the boulevards of Paris to the Hollywood Hills in the ceremony’s tacky finale only increased concern.

From

The former president’s supporters parked their souped-up pickup trucks covered in tacky decals and flags outside Carnegie Hall, blasting Kid Rock music and holding styrofoam busts poorly made up to look like Griffin.

From

The Padres were tacky, but that was no excuse for Dodgers fans to be idiots.

From

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