Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, inexpensive, and showy ornament or piece of jewelry: A bauble is a decorative item, often flashy or gaudy, that is considered to be of little real value or quality.
   • A jester's mock scepter: Historically, a bauble is the ornamented stick or scepter carried by a court jester or fool.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The Christmas tree was covered in colorful baubles and tinsel.
  • She wore a necklace that was nothing more than a cheap bauble.
  • In the painting, the court jester is waving his bauble.

Advanced Usage

• Used figuratively to describe something trivial or of little worth:
  • He realized that the fame he sought was just a hollow bauble.
  • The argument was over a mere bauble, not a matter of principle.

Variants and Related Words

• Trinket (n): A small ornament or item of jewelry that is of little value.
• Gewgaw (n): A showy thing, especially a cheap or useless ornament. (A more old-fashioned synonym for bauble).
• Knickknack (n): A small decorative object.

Synonyms

• Trinket
• Gewgaw
• Novelty
• Ornament
• Curio

Related Idioms

• "All that glitters is not gold": This proverb relates to the idea of a bauble, warning that something attractive on the outside (like a shiny bauble) may not be valuable or genuine.

Noun

1. cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing
2. a mock scepter carried by a court jester