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meretricious

adj
/ˌmɛɹɪˈtɹɪʃəs/

Etymology

From Latin meretrīcius, from meretrīx (“harlot, prostitute”), from mereō (“earn, deserve, merit”) (English merit) + -trīx (“(female agent)”) (English -trix).

  1. derived from -trix)
  2. derived from meretrīcius

Definitions

  1. Tastelessly gaudy

    Tastelessly gaudy; superficially attractive but having in reality no value or substance; falsely alluring.

    • Gloriani’s statues were florid and meretricious; they looked like magnified goldsmith’s work.

  2. Involving unlawful sexual connection or lack of consent by at least one party (said of a…

    Involving unlawful sexual connection or lack of consent by at least one party (said of a romantic relationship).

  3. Of, or relating to prostitutes or prostitution.

The neighborhood

Derived

meretriciously, meretriciousness, unmeretricious

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for meretricious. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA