Dictionary

tinselly en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɪnsəli/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From tinsel + -y.

Meanings

1. Resembling or adorned with tinsel.
   • Christmas decorations clung to the light poles lining the street — green, red, and white tinselly creations: snowmen, Santas, reindeer, candy canes... 2007, Scott Smith, A Simple Plan:
2. (figuratively) Gaudy, superficial; offering attraction without depth.
   • She was a light-skinned girl of frail and tinselly beauty […] 1978, Edward Lewis Wallant, The Pawnbroker:
   • ...the insurance money his death would provide might help his sons to become the tinselly images of a perfect salesman he had so foolishly hoped to be […] 1984, Louise T Reynolds, The New Renaissance:

Forms