as in cheese
something that is of low quality but that many people find amusing and enjoyable
The restaurant is decorated with 1950s furniture and kitsch from old TV shows.
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as in kitschy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kitsch
Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Qajar-dynasty kitsch—kings with walrus mustaches and embellished turbans, women with unibrows in tunics—became ubiquitous as a motif in contemporary art, on the walls of cafés, on teapots.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Critically blasted but massively popular with audiences, this dream project is the height of kitsch, somehow made palatable by Richard’s characteristic earnestness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
One of the most remarkable things about EPiC, however, is that despite the outlandishness of the costumes, the movie never feels kitsch or frozen in time.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kitsch
Noun
Flea markets sold Soviet kitsch, while imperial antiques disappeared from private collections along with their owners.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Qajar-dynasty kitsch—kings with walrus mustaches and embellished turbans, women with unibrows in tunics—became ubiquitous as a motif in contemporary art, on the walls of cafés, on teapots.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Critically blasted but massively popular with audiences, this dream project is the height of kitsch, somehow made palatable by Richard’s characteristic earnestness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
One of the most remarkable things about EPiC, however, is that despite the outlandishness of the costumes, the movie never feels kitsch or frozen in time.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kitsch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kitsch
Noun
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One order contains 17 grams (g) of protein thanks to the egg, cheese, and bacon.—
Jennifer Berger,
Verywell Health,
27 Apr. 2026
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The restaurant also runs additional weekday specials, including a $12 cheese pizza on Tuesdays and a $10 double cheeseburger on Wednesdays, though the Sunday spaghetti special may get you the most bang for your buck.—
Eva Remijan-Toba,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The auction features more than 500 lots of designer clothing, shoes, furnishings, kitschy keepsakes and props straight from the beloved show.—
Kailyn Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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And Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (2022) dropped its kitschy, hip-swiveling subject into a delirious fever dream that at the very least made its messy screenplay interesting.—
Keith Murphy,
VIBE.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Having junk hauled away costs money.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Apr. 2026
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For me, Storage Wars was an addiction and Darrell was the loveable loser who was always looking for that $40 bill in a pile of junk.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Not because of the roving packs of teenagers or even the garish displays of overconsumption, but because mall architecture was high art.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
17 Apr. 2026
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Out front was a parked Jeep that had been decorated in garish camouflage and emblazoned with the grinning face of a man who went by Lawyer Don.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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From the Japanese point of view, leaving rubbish piled up in a stadium would be a bother to others.—
Stephen Wade,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Local villages are actively monitoring the oceans and reefs in their environment, and backlash to a recent plan from a billionaire Australian to build a giant plant to incinerate rubbish in Fiji was loud and well organized, says Singh.—
MIchelle Duff,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Both these cousins grow to a comparable size and shape about 15 to 20 feet tall and wide, and combine gaudy spring flowers with scarlet and crimson fall foliage.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2026
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The neighbors of the Highland Park mansion once owned by MJ now have flexed their muscle not once but twice at proposals to repurpose the gaudy property for something other than a one-family occupier living therein.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Colorado emergency responders closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 76 on Friday morning after a fatal crash the Colorado State Patrol said involved a trash truck and a pedestrian.—
Jesse Sarles,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Another 10 gathered on plastic trash and one was on an unused steam table.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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For those who know the play well, some of Mantello’s choices are most striking, especially the horror here of the famous hotel-room scene with a tawdry lover (brutally played by Katherine Romans), an act born of loneliness that destroys a father’s relationship with his son forever.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Illinois and Chicago are high-tax, big-promise blue strongholds with long, tawdry histories of waste, fraud, patronage, insider deals and blatant corruption.—
Andy Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kitsch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kitsch. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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