mer´e|tri´cious|ly

mer´e|tri´cious|ly
mer|e|tri|cious «MEHR uh TRIHSH uhs», adjective.
1. attractive in a showy way; alluring by false charms: »

A wooden building painted to look like marble is meretricious. There is nothing showy or meretricious about the man (William Dean Howells). The actual broadcasts have also combined the sublime and the ridiculous, the serious and the meretricious, in the kind of melange…found to be commercially profitable (New Yorker).

2. having to do with or characteristic of a prostitute.
╂[< Latin meretrīcius (with English -ous) < meretrīx, -īcis prostitute < merērī to earn (money)]
–mer´e|tri´cious|ly, adverb.
–mer´e|tri´cious|ness, noun.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • mer|e|tri|cious — «MEHR uh TRIHSH uhs», adjective. 1. attractive in a showy way; alluring by false charms: »A wooden building painted to look like marble is meretricious. There is nothing showy or meretricious about the man (William Dean Howells). The actual… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mer´e|tri´cious|ness — mer|e|tri|cious «MEHR uh TRIHSH uhs», adjective. 1. attractive in a showy way; alluring by false charms: »A wooden building painted to look like marble is meretricious. There is nothing showy or meretricious about the man (William Dean Howells).… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mer·e·tri·cious — …   Useful english dictionary

  • mer — mer·al·lu·ride; mer·a·mec; mer·bro·min; mer·cal·li; mer·cal·lite; mer·can·tile; mer·can·til·ism; mer·cap·tal; mer·cap·tan; mer·cap·tide; mer·cap·to; mer·cap·to·acetic; mer·cap·to·benzothiazole; mer·cap·tole; mer·cap·tom·er·in; mer·cap·to·purine;… …   English syllables

  • cious — an·dro·di·oe·cious; an·dro·mo·noe·cious; an·ti·per·ni·cious; as·tu·cious; atro·cious; atro·cious·ly; atro·cious·ness; au·da·cious·ly; au·da·cious·ness; aus·pi·cious; aus·pi·cious·ly; aus·pi·cious·ness; av·a·ri·cious; av·a·ri·cious·ly;… …   English syllables

  • meretricious — mer·e·tri·cious …   English syllables

  • meretriciously — mer·e·tri·cious·ly …   English syllables

  • meretricious — mer•e•tri•cious [[t]ˌmɛr ɪˈtrɪʃ əs[/t]] adj. 1) cvb alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry 2) cvb based on pretense or insincerity 3) cvb pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute • Etymology: 1620–30; < L meretrīcius …   From formal English to slang

  • meretricious — mer|e|tri|cious [ ,merə trıʃəs ] adjective VERY FORMAL seeming to be good, useful, or important but not really having any value at all ╾ mer|e|tri|cious|ly adverb …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • meretricious — mer|e|tri|cious [ˌmerıˈtrıʃəs] adj formal [Date: 1600 1700; : Latin; Origin: meretricius, from meretrix prostitute , from merere; MERIT1] something that is meretricious seems attractive but has no real value or is not based on the truth ▪… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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