kitsch

[ kich ]
See synonyms for: kitschkitschy on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste.

Origin of kitsch

1
First recorded in 1925–30; from German, derivative of kitschen “to throw together (a work of art)”

Other words from kitsch

  • kitsch·y, adjective

Words Nearby kitsch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kitsch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for kitsch

kitsch

/ (kɪtʃ) /


noun
    • tawdry, vulgarized, or pretentious art, literature, etc, usually with popular or sentimental appeal

    • (as modifier): a kitsch plaster bust of Beethoven

Origin of kitsch

1
C20: from German

Derived forms of kitsch

  • kitschy, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for kitsch

kitsch

[ (kich) ]


Works of art and other objects (such as furniture) that are meant to look costly but actually are in poor taste.

Notes for kitsch

Kitsch in literature and music is associated with sentimentalism as well as bad taste.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.