meretricious

meretricious

me rih trI shəs

adjective

1. appealing or attracting in a cheap, showy, or shallow way.
example: Some chandeliers convey opulent elegance, while others can be as meretricious as disco balls.
example: He succumbed to the meretricious charms of Parisian nightclubs.

2. lacking truth or sincerity; deceptive; spurious.
example: meretricious praise; a meretricious way of debating; a meretricious assertion.

Etymology

“1620s, “pertaining to harlots,” from Latin meretricius “of or pertaining to prostitutes,” from meretrix (genitive meretricis) “prostitute,” literally “woman who earns money,” from merere, mereri “to earn, gain” (see merit(n.)). Meaning “gaudily alluring” is from 1630s.” (Doug Harper, www.etymonline.com)