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César Ritz (1850-1918) earned worldwide renown for the luxurious hotels bearing his name in London and Paris. (The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is a contemporary descendant of these enterprises.) Although they were by no means the first to cater to high-end clients, Ritz’s hotels quickly earned reputations as symbols of opulence. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer who often focused on the fashionably wealthy, titled one of his short stories “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” and the phrase “to put on the ritz” means “to indulge in ostentatious display.” The adjective ritzy, describing either something fancy or stylish, or the haughty attitudes of the wealthy elite, first checked into the English language in 1919.
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Examples of ritzy in a Sentence
Stacia Datskovska, WWD, 17 Dec. 2024
Once the ritziest casino on the Strip, the Tropicana was imploded before dawn Wednesday after having spent its final decades as a more affordable destination.
—Maya Huter, NBC News, 9 Oct. 2024
Vincent Alban | Reuters Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will rub elbows this week with a group of Vice President Kamala Harris’ allies at a meet and greet in the ritzy New York beach enclave of the Hamptons hosted by PR executive Mike Kempner, according to an invitation reviewed by CNBC.
—Brian Schwartz, CNBC, 29 July 2024
More than 10 miles south in Baltimore, a guard also appeared to be present outside the brick buildings on the campus of Gilman, the ritzy private school where Mangione was valedictorian.
—Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
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