Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - meretricious

 adjective  Etymology: Latin meretricius, from meretric-, meretrix prostitute, from merere to earn — more at merit  Date: 1626  1. of or relating to a prostitute ; having the nature of prostitution ~ relationships  2.  a. tawdrily and falsely attractive the paradise they found was a piece of ~ trash — Carolyn See  b. superficially significant ; pretentious scholarly names to provide fig-leaves of respectability for ~ but stylish books — Times Literary Supplement  Synonyms: see gaudy  • ~ly adverb  • ~ness noun