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tacky - 9 dictionary results

tack⋅y

1  [tak-ee]
Use tacky in a Sentence
–adjective, tack⋅i⋅er, tack⋅i⋅est.
sticky to the touch; adhesive.
Origin:
1780–90; tack 1 + -y 1

Related forms:
tack⋅i⋅ness, noun

tack⋅y

2  [tak-ee]
–adjective, tack⋅i⋅er, tack⋅i⋅est.
1. not tasteful or fashionable; dowdy.
2. shabby in appearance; shoddy: a tacky, jerry-built housing development.
3. crass; cheaply vulgar; tasteless; crude.
4. gaudy; flashy; showy.
Origin:
1880–85, Americanism; appar. identical with earlier tack(e)y small horse, pony, poor farmer; of obscure orig.

Related forms:
tack⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tacky
tack·y 1   (tāk'ē)   
adj.   tack·i·er, tack·i·est
Slightly adhesive or gummy to the touch; sticky.

[From tack1.]
tack'i·ness n.
tack·y 2   (tāk'ē)   
adj.   tack·i·er, tack·i·est Informal
  1. Neglected and in a state of disrepair: a tacky old cabin in the woods.
    1. Lacking style or good taste; tawdry: tacky clothes.
    2. Distasteful or offensive; tasteless: a tacky remark.

[From tackey, an inferior horse.]
tack'i·ly adv., tack'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tacky

Tack"y\, a. [Etymol. uncert.] Dowdy, shabby, or neglected in appearance; unkempt. [Local, U. S.]

Tacky

Tack"y\, n. [Written also tackey.] An ill-conditioned, ill-fed, or neglected horse; also, a person in a like condition. [Southern U. S.]

Tacky

Tack"y\, a. [Cf. Techy, Tack a spot.] Sticky; adhesive; raw; -- said of paint, varnish, etc., when not well dried. [U. S.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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tacky  (1)
"sticky," 1788, from tack (1) in the sense of "an act of attaching temporarily."

tacky  (2)
"in poor taste," 1862, adj. use of tackey (n.) "small or inferior horse" (1800), later "hillbilly, cracker" (1888), of uncertain origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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