Definition of "tinsel" []

• Very thin sheets, strips, or threads of a glittering material used as a decoration. (noun)
• Something sparkling or showy but basically valueless: the tinsel of parties and promotional events. (noun)
• Made of or decorated with tinsel. (adjective)
• Gaudy, showy, and basically valueless. (adjective)
• To decorate with or as if with tinsel: tinsel a Christmas tree. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Interestingly though, the English word 'tinsel' is actually taken, not from German but from the French word 'estincele', which translates roughly as 'sparkle'. deklin42, posted this comment on Dec 3rd, 2009"
• "The staggering on too-high heels, the silly hats, the little black dresses covered in tinsel and the semi-drunken jokes about handcuffs."
• "To create a character, you take a shiny button here, a strand of hair there, a bit of tinsel from the garbage can, and build something which, you hope, will look like a person."