noun

kitsch

kihch

noun

Art or decoration seen as tacky, overly sentimental, or in poor taste, often enjoyed ironically.

"Her apartment was full of kitsch — plastic flamingos, snow globes, velvet paintings."

adj

Deliberately tacky, gaudy, or over-sentimental in style.

"The motel had a wonderfully kitsch neon sign out front."

How to Use Kitsch

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTacky or over-the-top in a way that can be either genuinely bad taste or charmingly so-bad-it's-good.

Common pairings

pure kitsch kitsch decor so kitsch

Word Forms

kitscher comparative, more kitsch comparative, kitsches plural, kitschest superlative, most kitsch superlative

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Her apartment was full of _____ — plastic flamingos, snow globes, velvet paintings.

Etymology

Borrowed directly from German Kitsch, likely linked to a dialect word meaning "to smear" or "throw together carelessly." The term caught on internationally in the 1930s among critics who used it to describe cheap or sentimental art in contrast to serious avant-garde work.

Rhymes for kitsch

Busch Bosch mensch Hirsch kirsch Munsch Deutsch

See all rhymes for kitsch →