Hypertext Webster Gateway: "meretriciousness"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Meretricious \Mer`e*tri"cious\, a. [L. meretricius, from
meretrix, -icis, a prostitute, lit., one who earns money, i.
e., by prostitution, fr. merere to earn, gain. See {Merit}.]
1. Of or pertaining to prostitutes; having to do with
harlots; lustful; as, meretricious traffic.
2. Resembling the arts of a harlot; alluring by false show;
gaudily and deceitfully ornamental; tawdry; as,
meretricious dress or ornaments. -- {Mer`e*tri"cious*ly},
adv. -- {Mer`e*tri"cious*ness}, n.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
meretriciousness
n 1: an appearance of truth that is false or deceptive; seeming
plausibility: "the speciousness of his argument" [syn: {speciousness}]
2: tasteless showiness [syn: {flashiness}, {garishness}, {gaudiness},
{loudness}, {brashness}, {tawdriness}, {glitz}]
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