Gimcrack
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Something showy but worthless; a bauble or gimmick.
"[H]er miſlike of my Dreſs confirms me, this muſt be ſome levvd London Gimcrack, ſome Play-houſe haunting Couſin; […]"
- 2 ornamental objects of no great value wordnet
- 1 To put together quickly and without much care; to bodge. transitive
"Actually the book is a series of related images (some fresh and sharp) and fragmentary sketches (a few vividly effective), gimcracked together with a semblance of plot and allegory,"
- 2 To embellish with gimcracks. transitive
"Furthermore many of the peripheral characters and myths that the Disney interests have appropriated over the years have been gimcracked to death, so that they have none of their original integrity ."
- 1 Showy but of poor quality; worthless. not-comparable
"For years past this branch of art-manufacture had been entrusted to those whose taste, if it may be called taste at all, can be no more referred to correct principles of design than the gimcrack decorations of a wedding-cake could be tested by any standard of sculpturesque beauty."
- 1 tastelessly showy wordnet
Example
More examples"For years past this branch of art-manufacture had been entrusted to those whose taste, if it may be called taste at all, can be no more referred to correct principles of design than the gimcrack decorations of a wedding-cake could be tested by any standard of sculpturesque beauty."
Etymology
Unknown.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.