loẹt
Definition
- Adjective:
- Gaudy red; lurid red; intensely and unpleasantly bright red: Describes a red color that is excessively bright, flashy, and often considered tasteless or overwhelming to the eye. It implies a harsh, glaring shade of red.
Usage Notes
- The word "loẹt" is almost never used alone in modern Vietnamese. It is primarily found in the fixed compound "đỏ loẹt".
- It functions as an adjective that intensifies and modifies the color red ("đỏ"), adding a strong negative connotation of being garish, vulgar, or excessively bright.
Usage Examples
- Adjective (in the compound "đỏ loẹt"):
- Cô ấy mặc chiếc váy đỏ loẹt trông rất lòe loẹt. (She wore a gaudy red dress that looked very flashy.)
- Màu sơn đỏ loẹt của căn nhà ấy chói cả mắt. (The lurid red paint color of that house is dazzling to the eyes.)
Advanced Usage
- As noted, "loẹt" is a bound morpheme. Its usage is confined to the specific idiom "đỏ loẹt". Other colors do not typically combine with "loẹt".
Variants and Related Words
- Đỏ loẹt (adj): Gaudy red, lurid red. This is the standard and almost exclusive form in which "loẹt" appears.
- Lòe loẹt (adj): Flashy, garish, showy in a tasteless way (often describing style or appearance, not just color). This is a separate, more common word that shares a similar sound and negative connotation.
Synonyms
- Garish: Obtrusively bright and showy.
- Lurid: Unpleasantly bright in color, especially so as to create a harsh or unnatural effect.
- Gaudy: Extravagantly bright or showy, typically so as to be tasteless.
Related Idioms
- Đỏ loẹt: The primary and essential idiom containing this word. It is used to criticize something for being an excessively bright, unpleasant, or tacky shade of red.
- Trang điểm đỏ loẹt (To wear gaudy red makeup)
- Ánh đèn neon đỏ loẹt (The lurid red neon light)