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tat

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Tastelessness by virtue of being cheap and vulgar.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tat
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtæt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Tastelessness by virtue of being cheap and vulgar

  2. uncountablebritish

    Cheap and vulgar tastelessness; sleaze.

  3. uncountablebritish

    Cheap, tasteless, useless goods; trinkets.

  4. Some small thing, especially that which is exchanged tit for tat.

  5. A southwestern Iranian language spoken by the Tat people.

  6. countableindia

    Gunny cloth made from the fibre of the Corchorus olitorius (jute).

verb

  1. Make lacework by knotting or looping

  2. transitiveintransitive

    To make (something by) tatting.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Tastelessness by virtue of being cheap and vulgar

Used this way, tat is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.

Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Ethics/values

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.