Artsiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Most strikingly concerned with the appearance of artistic taste, often in a self-consciously fashionable or pretentious way
2. Displaying the greatest amount of deliberate creative affectation in dress, decor, or manner
3. Showing the most self-conscious and showy interest in art and culture, sometimes to the point of seeming pretentious

Etymology: "Artsiest" is the superlative of "artsy", which is formed by adding the suffix "-y" to "arts", the plural of "art". The "-y" suffix, which in English turns nouns into adjectives meaning "characterised by" or "having the quality of", came into use in Old English, so "artsy" describes something with an air of artistic pretension or devotion to the arts. Superlative "-iest" follows the usual rule for adjectives ending in "-y", changing the "y" to "i" before adding "-est".

Synonyms: arty, bohemian, creative

Antonyms: philistine, unartistic