gimcrack
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈɡɪmˌkræk/
- Archaic
- Mind telling me how you're supposed to talk to the monsters with only those two gimcracks stuck to your skull?
Examples
-
The shelves in the store were filled with gimcrack, each piece more colorful and worthless than the last.
-
He tried to teach them how important books are, but kids today only care about electronic geegaws and gimcracks.
Fiction book (2001) -
Outside class, I'm God's own forgotten gimcrack, sitting alone by the sparkling pool.
Fiction book (1997) -
So far, it looks like there are no bus lanes getting installed, and probably no signal priority, but lots of money is being spent on gimcrack.
Blog text (8) -
Buy some cheap gimcrack and send it along as this nonexistent woman's personal possession.
Fiction book (1992) -
Next, he beefed up their security with a few gimcracks that weren't part of the standard GI package.
Fiction book (2000) -
Bowen's reticence extends to holding back from judgment, so that we are usually expected to detect the gimcrack and the meretricious for ourselves.
Academic text (2000) -
She decorated her room with gimcrack that she bought at the flea market, even though it served no real purpose.
-
After browsing the tourist shop, he realized all he had purchased were cheap gimcracks that would soon be forgotten.
Synonyms
14
4.2
A small cheap object people keep to decorate a home
7
9.9
A small inexpensive decorative object kept as a souvenir
7
9.9
Poor-quality items that are not worth buying
3
4.4
A low-cost fake of a brand-name item that looks like the real thing but is lower quality
2
9.9
Something of little or no worth
1
7.0
A small object kept for decoration rather than use
1
9.9
Cheap objects that look nice but have little value
1
9.9
Cheap fancy items that look attractive but have little value
1
9.9
Small decorative things that have little value
Small decorative things that have little value
Antonyms
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gimcrack names a showy but worthless trinket, and its exact origin is unclear. A helpful way to remember it is to think of gim sounding like gem and crack meaning 'broken', so a 'broken gem' looks nice but has little value, which is why gimcrack means a cheap ornament.