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tack·y1

Audio Help [tak-ee] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, tack·i·er, tack·i·est.

sticky to the touch; adhesive.

[Origin: 1780–90; tack¹ + -y¹

]

—Related forms

tack·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
tacky

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tack·y2

Audio Help [tak-ee] Pronunciation Key

–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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tack·y¹ Audio Help (tāk'ē) Pronunciation Key
adj. tack·i·er, tack·i·est
Slightly adhesive or gummy to the touch; sticky.

[From tack¹.]

tack'i·ness n.

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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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tack·y² Audio Help (tāk'ē) Pronunciation Key
adj. tack·i·er, tack·i·est Informal

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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tacky (1)

"sticky," 1788, from tack (1) in the sense of "an act of attaching temporarily."

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tacky (2)

"in poor taste," 1862, adj. use of tackey (n.) "small or inferior horse" (1800), later "hillbilly, cracker" (1888), of uncertain origin.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tacky
adjective
1.	(of a glutinous liquid such as paint) not completely dried and slightly sticky to the touch; "tacky varnish"
2.	tastelessly showy; "a flash car"; "a flashy ring"; "garish colors"; "a gaudy costume"; "loud sport shirts"; "a meretricious yet stylish book"; "tawdry ornaments"