# garish

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈɡɛəɹɪʃ/ · frequency rank #48,249

## Definitions
1. Overly ostentatious; so colorful as to be in bad taste.

## Etymology
Unknown, possibly from obsolete Middle English gawren (“to stare”) which is of uncertain origin, probably from Old Norse gá (“to watch, heed”) or gaurr (“rough fellow”) (Proto-Indo-European *gʰow-rós, from *gʰew- (“to be angry”)). Compare with English gaw.

## Easily confused with
- **gash** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garish-vs-gash)
- **garth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garish-vs-garth)
- **grist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garish-vs-grist)
- **garnish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garish-vs-garnish)
- **grayish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garish-vs-grayish)
- **Gareth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gareth-vs-garish)

## Common misspellings (9)
`agrish`, `gairsh`, `garihs`, `garishh`, `garissh`, `garrish`, `garsih`, `ggarish`, `graish`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/garish