How to Use trashy in a Sentence

trashy

adjective
  • Her outfit was a bit trashy.
  • I know that sequined shirt cost a lot of money, but I still think it looks kind of trashy.
  • Yards smothered with slimy, brown leaves look trashy, like nobody cares.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2023
  • Which, back in the day, was kind of a trashy thing to wear to the afterlife.
    — National Geographic, 16 July 2019
  • By that point, the bear had strolled into the store looking for less a trashy snack.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 24 Aug. 2020
  • Check out how to put together a cute (but not trashy) costume.
    — Seventeen, 12 Nov. 2010
  • The puffy top is really chic but a little trashy (her sweetspot).
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Flashy, gaudy, trashy and thin on story, just like the Vegas myth.
    — Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY, 2 July 2022
  • Rupert’s British tabloids, though trashy, have at least been funny.
    — The Week Us, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Moïse’s has an unusually gaudy, even trashy, nude above his bed.
    — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 10 Mar. 2022
  • Play a favorite song, call your best friend, go for a walk or read a trashy magazine.
    — NBC News, 24 May 2017
  • There’s a thin line between trashy summer reads and meaty, good, summer reads.
    — The Editors, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2017
  • There are a million ways to isolate someone or kill them, but this is like some trashy thriller.
    — Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2020
  • Others might want to be left alone, to do something low-key, like watch a trashy show or go for a walk.
    — Anna Pulley, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2022
  • But their families ate the fish at home because here’s nothing trashy at all about them.
    — Debbie Moose, charlotteobserver, 3 Apr. 2018
  • The movie is equal parts clever and trashy, made for people who like to see very good actors play people who are very bad.
    — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2022
  • Because even in the ‘80s, the world could only handle so many trashy teen movies.
    — Brett Milano, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
  • This pre-apocalyptic scenario is not the plot of a trashy new sci-fi novel.
    — Wired, 24 Sep. 2019
  • Eat trashy food, go for a long walk, journal your desires and wishes for the new year or binge-watch zombie movies!
    — Anna Pulley, Chicago Tribune, 20 Dec. 2022
  • This is the trashy side of the news, against which respectable journalism defines itself.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
  • The story, too, is something a teenaged devotee of trashy fiction might imagine.
    — John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2017
  • Some people think Eurovision is a joke — too camp, too trashy, too shmaltzy.
    — Karla Adam, Washington Post, 13 May 2023
  • Thanks to the coronavirus, Hoosiers have become extra trashy.
    — Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 28 May 2020
  • Certain people enjoy going to that trashy wing and sitting there, and some people don’t.
    — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026
  • And maybe part of the anger is that this was a (trashy) grand illusion that in certain ways implicated us all.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 June 2023
  • Trixie Mattel is great as Sharon Frockavich, a nice blend of crass, flashy and trashy.
    — Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle, 9 Mar. 2018
  • The news is already a rough place for children; politicians don’t need to help turn it into a trashy reality show.
    — Larry Clifton, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The news is already a rough place for children; politicians don’t need to help turn it into a trashy reality show.
    — Larry Clifton, Sun Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Fine jewelry has been separated from the trashy costume stuff.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Yet the other end of the spectrum—trashy reality TV— is painful, too.
    — Sarah Seltzer, Glamour, 23 Aug. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trashy.' 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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