mer·e·tri·cious

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• 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).… …   Useful english dictionary

• 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 — 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