meretricious

英[,merɪ'trɪʃəs] 美['mɛrə'trɪʃəs]

1. like or relating to a prostitute;

"meretricious relationships"

2. tastelessly showy;

"a flash car"

"a flashy ring"

"garish colors"

"a gaudy costume"

"loud sport shirts"

"a meretricious yet stylish book"

"tawdry ornaments"

3. based on pretense; deceptively pleasing;

"the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility"

"meretricious praise"

"a meretricious argument"