Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GAUD'Y, a.

1. Showy; splendid; gay. A goldfinch there I saw, with gaudy pride / Of painted plumes. Dryden.
2. Ostentatiously fine; gay beyond the simplicity of nature or good taste. Costly thy habit as the purse can buy, / But not express'd in fancy; rich not gaudy. Shak.