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Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby.
- adjective Old-fashioned; antiquated.
- noun A dowdy person; a frump.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A slatternly, slovenly, ill-dressed woman; a slattern, especially one who affects finery.
- Slovenly; ill-dressed; slatternly: applied to women.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Showing a vulgar taste in dress; awkward and slovenly in dress; vulgar-looking.
- noun An awkward, vulgarly dressed, inelegant woman.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Plain andunfashionable instyle ordress . - adjective Lacking
stylishness orneatness ;shabby .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun deep-dish apple dessert covered with a rich crust
- adjective primly out of date
- adjective lacking in smartness or taste
- noun British marshal of the RAF who commanded the British air defense forces that defeated the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1882-1970)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Her Aunt Mimi isn't beautiful, at least on the outside: she buries her features beneath thick powder, marches around in dowdy clothes and looks old beyond her years.
A Grownup Look at Lennon as a 'Boy' Joe Morgenstern 2010
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They had been out at General Headquarters, living in dowdy little hotels in Arras ever since October, most of them.
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The galaxy of handsome women that formed the court of the Emperor had perhaps sent beauty somewhat out of fashion; for the high-born ladies who took their place were what we should call dowdy, and had nothing distinguished in their appearance.
Reminiscences of Captain Gronow Gronow, Rees Howell, 1794-1865 1862
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While girlie, they weren't prim or dowdy, which is surely important to Stuart's typically young customer - someone like Emma Roberts, who sat in the front row.
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Have a look at this for a brilliant exposé of how the real flesh, blood, mousy hair and freckles of a 'dowdy' girl next door can be transformed into an unattainable goddess.
Supermodel Erin O'Connor slams fashion world for lying to women 2011
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Also, women are so worried about appearing "dowdy," but these paintings do not show magnificent clothing, just feminine clothing -- skirts and dresses.
Archive 2009-07-01 2009
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Also, women are so worried about appearing "dowdy," but these paintings do not show magnificent clothing, just feminine clothing -- skirts and dresses.
Inspirational Sewing 2009
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What a nice way to show that dressing modestly doesn't have to mean "dowdy" or "drab"!
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I admit to initially noticing her because she was kind of dowdy I was in a Starbucks of upscale clientele.
The Adventure of TechieGirl Ashley R 2009
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I admit to initially noticing her because she was kind of dowdy I was in a Starbucks of upscale clientele.
Archive 2009-10-25 Ashley R 2009
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The most mischievous urchins are afraid to hurt the dowdy-cow, believing if they did evil would inevitably befall them.
Notes And Queries, Issue 9. LAMBERT B. LARKING. 2020
Related Words
synonyms (53)
Words with the same meaning
- archaic
- blowsy
- bygone
- dated
- demode
- down-at-heel
- down-at-the-heels
- drab
- draggletailed
- dull
- frayed
- frazzled
- frowsy
- frowzy
- frumpish
- frumpy
- full of holes
- holey
- in rags
- in shreds
- in tatters
- messy
- old hat
- old-fashioned
- out-of-date
- outdated
- outmoded
- passe
- patchy
- ragged
- raggedy
- ratty
- scruffy
- seedy
- shabby
- shoddy
- slattern
- sloppy
- slovenly
- slut
- sordid
- stodgy
- tacky
- tattered
- tatty
- torn
- traipse
- unbecoming
- unfashionable
- unkempt
- unseemly
- vintage
- vulgar-looking
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