Obtrusively bright and showy; tastelessly colorful or ornate. Describes something that attracts attention in an unpleasant or vulgar way through excessive brightness or ornamentation.
From Middle English 'gauren' meaning 'to stare,' possibly related to 'gaze.' The word evolved to describe things that force you to stare because they're so aggressively bright or showy, though not in a pleasant way.
Think of 'garish' as 'GLARE-ish' - it's so bright and flashy that it makes you want to look away! It's like visual shouting: loud, attention-grabbing, but not in a good way. Imagine neon lights in daylight - that's garish.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.