tinsel
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
A thread with glittering metal foil attached.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tinsuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɪnsəl
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
by extensionfiguratively
Anything shining and gaudy; especially something superficially shiny and showy, or having a false lustre, and more pretty than valuable.
A thread with glittering metal foil attached
A very thin, gauzelike cloth with gold or silver (or, later, copper) thread woven into it, or overlaid with thin metal plates.
A silk or wool fabric with gold or silver thread woven into it; brocade.
adjective
by extensionfiguratively
Apparently beautiful and costly but having little value; superficially attractive; gaudy, showy, tawdry.
verb
by extension
To deck out (a place or something) with showy but cheap ornaments; to make gaudy.
figuratively
To give (something) a false or superficial attractiveness.
also figuratively
To ornament (fabric, etc.) by weaving into it thread of gold, silver, or some other shiny material.
To adorn (something) with tinsel.
Interweave with tinsel
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A thread with glittering metal foil attached
Used this way, tinsel is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use tinsel
- “His tinseled image of Hollywood.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: apparently beautiful and costly but having little value
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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.