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Meretricious - 5 dictionary results

mer⋅e⋅tri⋅cious

   [mer-i-trish-uhs]
–adjective
1. alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry.
2. based on pretense, deception, or insincerity.
3. pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute.
Origin:
1620–30; < L meretrīcius of, pertaining to prostitutes, der. of meretrīx prostitute = mere-, s. of merēre to earn + -trīx -trix; see -ous
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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mer·e·tri·cious     (měr'ĭ-trĭsh'əs)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
    1. Attracting attention in a vulgar manner: meretricious ornamentation. See Synonyms at gaudy1.
    2. Plausible but false or insincere; specious: a meretricious argument.
  2. Of or relating to prostitutes or prostitution: meretricious relationships.

[Latin meretrīcius, of prostitutes, from meretrīx, meretrīc-, prostitute, from merēre, to earn money; see (s)mer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
mer'e·tri'cious·ly adv., mer'e·tri'cious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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meretricious 
1626, from L. meretricius "of or pertaining to prostitutes," from meretrix (gen. meretricis) "prostitute," lit. "woman who earns money," from merere, mereri "to earn, gain" (see merit).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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meretricious

adjective
1. like or relating to a prostitute; "meretricious relationships" 
2. tastelessly showy; "a flash car"; "a flashy ring"; "garish colors"; "a gaudy costume"; "loud sport shirts"; "a meretricious yet stylish book"; "tawdry ornaments" 
3. based on pretense; deceptively pleasing; "the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility"; "meretricious praise"; "a meretricious argument" [syn: gilded] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Meretricious

Mer`e*tri"cious\, a. [L. meretricius, from meretrix, -icis, a prostitute, lit., one who earns money, i. e., by prostitution, fr. merere to earn, gain. See Merit.]

1. Of or pertaining to prostitutes; having to do with harlots; lustful; as, meretricious traffic.

2. Resembling the arts of a harlot; alluring by false show; gaudily and deceitfully ornamental; tawdry; as, meretricious dress or ornaments. -- Mer`e*tri"cious*ly, adv. -- Mer`e*tri"cious*ness, n.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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