a glittering metallic substance, as copper or brass, in thin sheets, used in pieces, strips, threads, etc., to produce a sparkling effect cheaply.
a metallic yarn, usually wrapped around a core yarn of silk, rayon, or cotton, for weaving brocade or lamé.
anything showy or attractive with little or no real worth; showy pretense: The actress was tired of the fantasy and tinsel of her life.
Obsolete. a fabric, formerly in use, of silk or wool interwoven with threads of gold, silver, or, later, copper.
adjective
consisting of or containing tinsel.
showy; gaudy; tawdry.
verb (used with object),tin·seled,tin·sel·ing or (especially British) tin·selled,tin·sel·ling.
to adorn with tinsel.
to adorn with anything glittering.
to make showy or gaudy.
Origin of tinsel
1495–1505; by aphesis <Middle French estincelle (Old French estincele) a spark, flash <Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathetic variant of Latin scintillascintilla; first used attributively in phrases tinsel satin, tinsel cloth
OTHER WORDS FROM tinsel
tin·sel·like,adjectiveo·ver·tin·sel,verb (used with object),o·ver·tin·seled,o·ver·tin·sel·ing or (especially British) o·ver·tin·selled,o·ver·tin·sel·ling.un·tin·seled,adjectiveun·tin·selled,adjective
Words nearby tinsel
tin parachute, tin pest, tin plate, tin-pot, tin pyrites, tinsel, tinselly, tinselry, Tinseltown, tinsmith, tin soldier