Andrew O'Hagan

I probably owe my political dismay to New Labour, but also my growing sense that the satirical shape of human affairs is international and historical, not glued to the tawdry ambitions of a team of politicians who represent nothing but themselves.

Scottish Novelist

Jonathan Miles

Havana is one of the great cities of the world, sublimely tawdry yet stubbornly graceful, like tarnished chrome - a city, as a young Winston Churchill once wrote, where 'anything might happen.

Giles Gilbert Scott

The artistic taste of the Catholic priests is appalling and I am most anxious to have a Catholic church in which everything is genuine and good, and not tawdry and ostentatious.

English Architect

David Hewson

Historic Amsterdam, that old part you first see when you turn up at Centraal Station, may have its monuments, but it's also the most tawdry and overcrowded part of the city.

British Author

Edmund Leach

Far from being the basis of the good society, the family, with its narrow privacy and tawdry secrets, is the source of all our discontents.

British Scientist

Penny Junor

I don't think the monarchy is tawdry in the slightest. I think the monarchy is hugely important for Britain.

English Journalist

Barkha Dutt

Most of us will agree that my former medium, television news, has been reduced to tawdry entertainment.

Indian Journalist

Oliver Reed

I'm not a villain, I've never hurt anyone. I'm just a tawdry character who explodes now and again.

English Actor

Rose McGowan

I never considered myself a celebrity. I hate that word. It's tawdry.

American Actress

Errol Morris

Do I like tawdry, sleazy stories? Yeah, I do.

American Director

Means something looks good but lacks quality or value.

Visual Deceit

Avoid in formal or professional settings, as it suggests cheapness.

Not for Professionals

Used to describe something that's alluring on the surface but shallow.

Lack Substance

Refers to something that's flashy but misleading or of little worth.

False Glamour

Implies sexual suggestiveness that's seen as tasteless or low-class.

Cheaply Seductive

Can hint at undesirable or unwelcome sexual advances or behavior.

Tawdry