How to Use gimmickry in a Sentence

gimmickry

noun
  • As arena rock shows go, this one was a doozie, but not because of stage gimmickry or a stunning light show.
    — Max Londberg and Timothy Finn, kansascity.com, 12 June 2017
  • The risk for Biden is that the budget ploy is likely to prompt complaints of gimmickry.
    — Justin Sink, Bloomberg.com, 26 Mar. 2022
  • The dishes do not show off, or gesture in the direction of gimmickry.
    — Julia Kramer, Bon Appetit, 15 Aug. 2017
  • There's a fine line between gimmickry and innovation, of course.
    — Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2020
  • But end-of-game gimmickry isn’t the most pressing concern for Bruce Cassidy.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 20 Dec. 2019
  • His verses were punctuated with growls and barks, yet his art was far too earnest for these elements to scan as gimmickry.
    — David Drake, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Yes, there is all manner of Wall Street gimmickry coming down the pike (all of it eager for your funds).
    — James Berman, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • This is a fine balance; a novelty symbol may too often tip over into gimmickry.
    — Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 14 Jan. 2021
  • Alex and the band capitulated, with the proviso that the video would be free of gimmickry.
    — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024
  • But to go beyond gimmickry, a show like this also needs a story amenable — in fact, designed — for such an experience.
    — Dominic P. Papatola, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2017
  • From such duplicitous beginnings, the idea of gimmickry soon spread.
    — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2020
  • But, of course, modernism itself remained open to charges of gimmickry, and not only from reactionaries.
    — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2020
  • But then my director hat pops on and asks — would the audience find that technical gimmickry distracting?
    — Simon Abrams, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2018
  • In the hands of lesser chefs, these shenanigans would come off as pure gimmickry, and there are times during a meal at the Cube when all the playfulness falls flat.
    — Besha Rodell, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2020
  • Of course, such casting gimmickry has been a mainstay in the reality competition space for years.
    — Tyler Coates, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
  • This year’s offense, eventually, did not need gimmickry to pull away from Indiana.
    — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2017
  • This devoted crowd would likely have preferred to see Madonna drop the gimmickry to perform one of her biggest hits in person.
    — Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024
  • The privilege of strolling amid such gimmickry will cost you dearly — $25, in a city heaving with museums that cost nothing.
    — Kyle Smith, National Review, 9 Feb. 2018
  • No tiresome immersive gimmickry but an enhanced consciousness of being in the real thing.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2024
  • The whiskey world can be susceptible to fads and hype—indeed, a certain degree of gimmickry is to be expected in a market as crowded as this one.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 Nov. 2022
  • If none of these other options work, the negotiators could always resort to further budget gimmickry.
    — Jim Newell, Slate Magazine, 8 Dec. 2017
  • So, yeah, Colorado and its snowy, cozy milieu felt like a return to form, with a focus on technique and ingredients over games and gimmickry.
    — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
  • But their objections seem aimed more at the basic gimmickry of the idea, not its legality or fiscal effectiveness.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2023
  • For decades, though, these institutions had reaped hefty fees from the city and become complicit in what amounted to its fiscal gimmickry leading up to the crisis.
    — Sam Roberts, New York Times, 4 May 2022
  • Handing him a uniform was sure to elicit criticism for gimmickry — the flip-side of a Tim Tebow signing, as Miller puts it.
    — Mike Tierney, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2017
  • This would all be standard issue rappin’ granny gimmickry if Norman and Patrick didn’t have bars, but every line is more surprising than the last.
    — Vulture, 22 Sep. 2022
  • His great strength as a critic was his pragmatism, his commitment to assess the performance in front of him on its own terms while casting a skeptical eye at gimmickry.
    — New York Times, 19 Feb. 2021
  • Palette’s approach blurs the line between innovation and gimmickry.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Detractors shrug it off as gimmickry because, at the turn of the millennium, it was associated with pop music.
    — Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 9 Aug. 2025
  • And Hanks, who’s made unvarnished, down-to-earth honesty something of a career specialty, feels uniquely ill served by such gimmickry.
    — Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gimmickry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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