You can refer to a work of art or an object as kitsch if it is showy and thought by some people to be in bad taste.
...a hideous ballgown verging on the kitsch.
Collectors of Fifties kitsch should pop over to Brussels for the flea market.
Synonyms: bad taste, vulgarity, coarseness, tastelessness More Synonyms of kitsch
Kitsch is also an adjective.
Blue and green eyeshadow has long been considered kitsch.
...kitsch pop culture.
kitsch in British English
(kɪtʃ)
noun
a.
tawdry, vulgarized, or pretentious art, literature, etc, usually with popular or sentimental appeal
b.
(as modifier)
a kitsch plaster bust of Beethoven
Derived forms
kitschy (ˈkitschy)
adjective
Word origin
C20: from German
kitsch in American English
(kɪtʃ)
noun
art, writing, etc. of a pretentious but shallow kind, calculated to have popular appeal
Derived forms
kitschy (ˈkitschy)
adjective
Word origin
Ger, gaudy trash < dial. kitschen, to smear
Examples of 'kitsch' in a sentence
kitsch
They manage to look kitsch and classic at the same time.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Whether you enjoy it as kitsch singalong or classic family entertainment, resistance is futile.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Pop guitar, kitsch and classical motifs were ingeniously intertwined.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But for all its ambitions it's a mixed bag of a spectacle that smacks of kitsch calendar art.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It was a kitsch, camp, very jolly holiday.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Last and his millions of fans existed defiantly in a kitsch parallel pop universe, but the bandleader did score a few notable hits with his own compositions.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
His surreal comedy should prove a perfect fit for a kitsch classic, back after nine years, as members of the public sing as their favourite stars.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
kitsch
British English: kitsch NOUN
You can refer to a work of art or an object as kitsch if it is showy and thought by some people to be in bad taste.