tacky
adjectiveadjectivenounattested in dialogue
- //ˈtæki//
Of a substance, slightly sticky.
adjective
- 1
Of a substance, slightly sticky.
This paint isn't dry yet; it's still a bit tacky.
Etymology
From tack + -y.
adjective
- 1
Of low quality.
That market stall sells all sorts of tacky ornaments.
- 2
In poor taste.
That was a tacky thing to say.
- 3
Gaudy or flashy.
Steve Randle was seventeen, tall and lean, with thick greasy hair he kept combed in complicated swirls. He was tacky, smart, and Soda's best buddy since grade school.
- 4
Shabby, dowdy in one's appearance or dress.
Etymology
Sense “in poor taste” from 1888, from earlier sense meaning shabby or seedy. Also see tackey (“neglected horse”), Southern US colloquialism from 1800s, later extended to people.
noun
- 1
Variant of tackeyAlternative form of tackey.
Forms
- plural
- tackies
- comparative
- tackier
- superlative
- tackiest