frilly

[fril-ee]

adjective

frillier, frilliest 

1. covered with or marked by frills.

   Some of the more elaborate dress shirts have frilly fronts.

2. frivolous; inconsequential.

   After a day of intense concentration and serious business, they feel like doing something frilly and amusing.

Other Word Forms

• frilliness noun
• unfrilly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of frilly¹

First recorded in 1835–45; frill + -y ¹

Example Sentences

She paused, her long blond hair and frilly white gown rustling in the dry, dusty breeze.

From Los Angeles Times

One of the most multifaceted ingredients, it's a multi-layered bulb around a dense core with sprouting stalks and frilly fronds.

From Salon

Over the years, pioneer Edwin Frazee and other local growers developed 13 colors of the frilly flowers.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m not talking about tweens, who have long been a core repeat audience, but adults decked in frilly pink or ominous green, depending on whether they were Team Glinda or Team Elphaba.

From Los Angeles Times

From a green American football jersey, combined with a layered frilly red dress styled as a skirt - in the colours of the Zambian flag to pay homage to 60 years of independence.

From BBC

Related Words

• complicated 
• decorative 
• deluxe 
• elegant 
• gaudy 
• lavish 
• ornate 
• special 
• sumptuous