Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
💎 Flashy but fake 👠 Like a prostitute
meretricious

meretricious

9.9
Relating to a person who has sex for money
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɛrəˈtrɪʃəs/
  • NSFW
translation icon : meretricio
  • His reputation was tainted by a series of meretricious affairs.

Examples

  • The film explored meretricious relationships in its depiction of the main character's lifestyle.

  • The novel described the meretricious atmosphere of the city's underworld.

  • That dress is meretricious!

  • She looked meretricious at the party.

  • The artist's work was criticized for being meretricious, lacking depth despite its flashy presentation.

  • In the novel, the protagonist is drawn to meretricious lifestyles that ultimately lead to heartbreak.

  • The ad's meretricious claims failed to convince discerning customers looking for genuine quality.

Synonyms

trampish
vsmeretricious
  • Offensive
9.9

Dressing or acting in a way that makes people think someone is sexually available

relates directly to being characteristic of a prostitute rather than suggesting it

Antonyms

virtuous
35 4.3

Being morally good and doing what is right

Surface Forms

meretricious positive

Morphology

meretricious = meretric + ious

The sense 'relating to a prostitute' aligns with the original Latin stem, but that stem is not a familiar English word, so the relation is not transparent to learners.

Etymology

Meretricious comes from the Latin meretrix, which means 'prostitute', so it can be used to describe behaviour or relationships 'relating to a prostitute'. That's why meretricious can refer to affairs or a lifestyle linked to prostitution.