EN

Synonyms for tacky

  • adjective

Most common

gaudy tawdry shabby chintzy sticky gluey

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Gaudy — gaudy or flashy

gaudy, tawdry, shabby, chintzy, flashy, garish, cheesy, tasteless, trashy, cheap, unkempt, tatty, run-down, seedy, poor, showy, tattered, brassy, bedraggled, loud, flash, gimcrack

2. Gluey

sticky, gluey, wet, adhesive, gummy

Other

dowdy, corny, outmoded

Antonyms

low-key, simple, fashionable

All antonyms of tacky →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Gaudy or flashy.

  2. adj. 2

    Of a substance, slightly sticky.

    This paint isn't dry yet; it's still a bit tacky.

Related words

Is a kind of
adherent adhesive agglutinative claggy clingsome
Other spellings
tackey

Example sentences

  • flashy Yanni bought Skura flashy and expensive things.
  • gaudy Don't you think that necklace is a bit gaudy?
  • wet Wet and stormy areas will get wetter and stormier.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
tackyrising
flashyrising
gaudyrising
tawdryrising
chintzyrising
wetsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
wet1
4 letters
poor1, loud1
5 letters
cheap1, flash1, corny2, gummy2, gaudy2, seedy2, showy2, dowdy2, tatty2, gluey
6 letters
sticky2, cheesy2, shabby2, flashy2, trashy2, garish2, tawdry2, brassy2
7 letters
unkempt2, chintzy2
8 letters
adhesive3, tattered2, outmoded3, gimcrack
9 letters
tasteless2
10 letters
bedraggled3

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (corny2 = 2 syllables).