attire
Americanverb (used with object)
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attires,
present (3rd person singular)
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attired,
past participle, past
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attiring
present participle
noun
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clothes or apparel, especially rich or splendid garments.
-
the horns of a deer.
verb
noun
-
clothes or garments, esp if fine or decorative
-
the antlers of a mature male deer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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attiresimple
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attiressimple
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have attiredperfect
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has attiredperfect
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am attiringprogressive
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are attiringprogressive
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is attiringprogressive
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have been attiringperfect progressive
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has been attiringperfect progressive
Past
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attiredsimple
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had attiredperfect
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was attiringprogressive
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were attiringprogressive
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had been attiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of attire
1250–1300; (v.) Middle English atiren < Anglo-French atirer, Old French atirier, verbal derivative of a tire into a row or rank ( see a- 3, tier 1); (noun) Middle English atir < Anglo-French, noun derivative of the v.
Explanation
The noun attire is just a formal way to say "outfit." And if you’re going outside in the middle of a blizzard, your attire should include more than a bathing suit and flip-flops. Attire can also refer to the antlers of a deer, but that’s a pretty obscure definition. So let's stick to the more common uses: put it into verb form and it means "to dress or clothe." Which makes sense, since it comes to us from the Old French atirier, meaning “to equip, ready or prepare.” Charles Dickens wrote that “Great men are seldom over-scrupulous in the arrangement of their attire" — meaning the clothes do not make the man.
Vocabulary lists containing attire
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Standing in a holding pen for inmates, wearing orange jail attire, Holdo looked back at Savery almost admiringly, at times bowing his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
He shows a meme featuring former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in traditional attire, standing with his hands on his hips and staring deadpan into the camera.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
A new initiative introduced this year allows bureaucrats in Tokyo to come to work in shorts -- a groundbreaking move in a country where formal business attire still rules.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Suzanne Lenglen, an Olympic gold medalist and winner of eight Grand Slam tournaments in singles, was the first to shed the garden-party attire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Nothing good could come of our formal attire, of that I was sure.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
The people who showed up at the Harris rally came in clusters, some families and some groups of friends, all of different ages, races and attires.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2024
When the cruise company told some of them that at least 250 Newfoundlander couples were already booked, many brought their flags and traditional attires to celebrate the island's heritage on board.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024
"This would be a colorful Rajasthan wedding, and both Brand and Perry would be attired in Indian wedding attires," Singh said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2010
Toni-Leslie James’s carnivalesque costumes provide the only touches of color, and they are limited to the attires of Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2010
Then he attires himself in morning clothes, goes to the theater, nervously holds the hat in his hand while he is introduced to the actors and actresses.
From Charles Frohman: Manager and Man by Isaac Frederick Marcosson
Ehis now has a master's degree in international business and says it was important to mark the occasion properly attired, even if it can be financially difficult.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
It doesn’t hurt that she’s attired in a series of extremely flattering outfits by the venerated costume designer Travis Banton.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
“We believe Cook is a hall-of-fame CEO, and he will be CEO for at least the next two years,” says the ever-colorfully attired Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.
From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025
Dressed in denim and a monogrammed windbreaker, cradling a cup of coffee, he was casual and unassuming, perfectly attired for fact-finding on a late fall morning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
They ought to have come a little sooner to have heard his lecture on dress, for they were splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
"They were seeing themselves as individuals and set themselves apart," said Wendi Ferreira of the styling duo Wendi and Nicole, who are attiring Oyelowo, Channing Tatum and Chris Pine for the Oscars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2015
Pledging eternal faithfulness, Frankie proceeds to support Johnnie, attiring him in "hundred-dollar" suits.
From Time Magazine Archive
She sat on the mandolin box in shadow, vaguely sulking, until Madame La Tour, fresh from her swift attiring, stood at the top of the stairway.
From The Lady of Fort St. John by Mary Hartwell Catherwood
Tom was attiring himself in his Sunday best.
From Left End Edwards by C. M. (Charles Mark) Relyea
Then came a great deal of amusement in attiring Andrew.
From A Little Girl in Old Philadelphia by Amanda Minnie Douglas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
