meretricious

C2 Topic:Register & Style
US /ˌmɛɹɪˈtɹɪʃəs/
adj Freq #210916

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    like or relating to a prostitute

    Meretricious relationships.

Thesaurus

Word family
Derived forms meretriciouslymeretriciousnessunmeretricious
Related forms merit

Etymology

From Latin meretrīcius, from meretrīx (“harlot, prostitute”), from mereō (“earn, deserve, merit”) (English merit) + -trīx (“(female agent)”) (English -trix).

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