mere trumpery
- noun
- /mɪr ˈtrʌmpəri/
- Archaic
:
trumpería
- His office was filled with mere trumpery to impress visitors.
Examples
-
The jewelry she wore was mere trumpery, lacking any real value.
-
Don't be fooled by mere trumpery—focus on what truly matters.
-
That necklace is just mere trumpery.
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She filled her house with mere trumperies.
-
His office was filled with mere trumpery to impress visitors.
-
The jewelry she wore was mere trumpery, lacking any real value.
-
Don't be fooled by mere trumpery—focus on what truly matters.
Synonyms
7
8.4
Useless or unimportant things that distract from what matters
3
6.8
Showy decoration that looks attractive but has little real value
1
9.9
Small decorative things that are fancy and not useful
1
4.0
A small thing that is not important
Cheap objects that look nice but have little value
A showy decoration that is not needed and looks too fancy
A very small amount of money or something of little value
Antonyms
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally predictable: 'mere' (only/insignificant) simply modifies 'trumpery' (showy, low-value objects), so the overall meaning 'only/showy worthless objects' follows directly from the constituents. Although 'trumpery' is somewhat archaic/rare, a learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE's meaning, making it transparent.
Etymology
The phrase mere trumpery comes from street sellers who offered shiny, cheap goods meant to fool buyers; trumpery were showy trinkets that looked valuable but were useless, and mere means 'only' or 'just'. That's why mere trumpery is used for things that are only showy and 'worthless'.