|merə.|trishəs adjective
Etymology: Latin meretricius, from meretric-, meretrix
1. : of or relating to a prostitute : having a harlot's traits
the Pennsylvania court … did not believe that there was a common-law marriage here, but merely a meretricious relationship — Morris Ploscowe
2. : exhibiting synthetic or spurious attractions : based on pretense or insincerity : cheaply ornamental
what counts in a boat is design and seaworthiness, not the meretricious attractions of newness — New Yorker
might have had fortune from the beginning if she had been willing to appear in meretricious plays — E.C.Wagenknecht
Synonyms: see gaudy