kitsch
kitsch Lexical Profile
kitsch Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.
"The souvenir shop was packed with overpriced kitsch aimed at passing tourists."
• adjective
Considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.
"The diner was decorated with kitsch 1950s memorabilia and neon pink flamingos."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often compared with 'camp', 'kitsch' refers specifically to mass-produced objects or art created with earnest, overly sentimental pretentiousness, whereas 'camp' involves a deliberate, self-aware embrace of theatricality and artifice.
• Rhymes for kitsch
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 20th century from German 'Kitsch', a term coined in the art markets of Munich in the 1860s and 1870s, possibly derived from the dialect verb 'kitschen' (to smear or scrape up mud from the street) or 'verkitschen' (to cheapen or sell off cheaply).