Standard Lemma guide

garish

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɡɛəɹɪʃ/
  • British, Southern, Standard: /ˈɡɛːɹɪʃ/
  • General-American: /ˈɡɛəɹɪʃ/ without the Mary–marry–merry merger
  • /ˈɡɛɹɪʃ/ General American, Mary–marry–merry merger
  • US: Mmmm Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˈɡeːɹɪʃ/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈɡeəɹɪʃ/ without the cheer–chair merger
  • /ˈɡiəɹɪʃ/ New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
  • Scotland: /ˈɡeɾɪʃ/
  • /ˈɡɜːɹɪʃ/ Lancashire, fair–fur merger
  • rhymes with -ɛəɹɪʃ
  • CMU ARPABET: G EH1 R IH0 SH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Overly ostentatious; so colorful as to be in bad taste.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The dress fits her well, but the pattern is rather garish.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bedizened, blatant, blingish, brash, campy, catchpenny, chichi, chintzy, corny, crass, crude, flashy, flaunting, florid, flossy, froufrou, garish, gauche, gaudy, gay, glaring, gross, gussied up, hideous, kitsch, kitschy, loud, meretricious, naff, obtrusive, ostentatious, pizazzy, pretentious, ritzy, raffish, schlocky, showy, snazzy, splendiferous, tacky, tasteless, tawdry, tinselly, too much, trinkety, unbecoming, untasteful, vain, whorish, zesty

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

tastelessly showy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a flash car
  • a flashy ring
  • garish colors
  • a gaudy costume
  • loud sport shirts
  • a meretricious yet stylish book
  • tawdry ornaments

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brassy, cheap, flash, flashy, gaudy, gimcrack, loud, meretricious, tacky, tatty, tawdry, trashy

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Unknown, possibly from obsolete Middle English gawren (“to stare”) which is of uncertain origin, probably from Old Norse gá (“to watch, heed”) or gaurr (“rough fellow”) (Proto-Indo-European *ghow-rós, from *ghew- (“to be angry”)). Compare with English gaw.

Across languages

Translations

57 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ярък (jarǎk) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Bulgarian: крещящ (kreštjašt) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Bulgarian: показен (pokazen) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Dutch: wansmakelijk — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Dutch: schreeuwlelijk — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Finnish: räikeä — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • French: criard — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • French: tape-à-l'œil — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • French: voyant — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Georgian: მყვირალა (mq̇virala) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Georgian: თვალშისაცემი (tvalšisacemi) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: grell — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: protzig — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: auffallend — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: aufdringlich — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: knallig — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: knallbunt — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • German: schreiend bunt — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Greek: χτυπητός (chtypitós) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Greek: φανταχτερός (fantachterós) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Greek: κακόγουστος (kakógoustos) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hindi: भड़कीला (bhaṛkīlā) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hindi: भड़कदार (bhaṛakdār) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hindi: शोख़ (śox) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hindi: चटकीला (caṭkīlā) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hungarian: feltűnő — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hungarian: rikító — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hungarian: ízléstelen — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hungarian: hivalkodó — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Hungarian: csicsás — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Irish: scéiniúil — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Italian: pacchiano — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Italian: appariscente — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Italian: vistoso — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Italian: chiassoso — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Italian: sgargiante — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Macedonian: јарк (jark) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Macedonian: дре́члив (dréčliv) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Polish: jaskrawy — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Polish: krzykliwy — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Portuguese: garrido — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Romanian: bătător la ochi — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Romanian: ţipător — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Romanian: strident — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Russian: крича́щий (kričáščij) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Russian: показно́й (pokaznój) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: gárrido — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: chillón — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: vistoso — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: colorinche (Lat. Am.) — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: charro — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: estrambótico — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: estrafalario — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Spanish: hortera — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Swedish: gräll — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Swedish: skrikig — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste
  • Turkish: cafcaflı — overly ostentatious; so colourful as to be in bad taste