garish Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite tastelessly showy
    gaudy; brassy; meretricious; tatty; tawdry; flash; cheap; flashy; tacky; gimcrack; loud; trashy.
    • a flash car
    • a flashy ring
    • garish colors
    • a gaudy costume
    • loud sport shirts
    • a meretricious yet stylish book
    • tawdry ornaments

WordNet

Gar"ish adjective
Etymology
Cf. OE. gauren to stare; of uncertain origin. Cf. gairish.
Definitions
  1. Showy; dazzling; ostentatious; attracting or exciting attention. "The garish sun." "A garish flag." Shak. "In . . . garish colors." Asham. "The garish day." J. H. Newman.
    Garish like the laughters of drunkenness. Jer. Taylor.
  2. Gay to extravagance; flighty.
    It makes the mind loose and garish. South.
    -- Gar"ish*ly, adv. -- Garish*ness, n. Jer. Taylor.

Webster 1913