blowsy
Americanadjective
-
having a coarse, ruddy complexion.
-
disheveled in appearance; unkempt.
adjective
-
(esp of a woman) untidy in appearance; slovenly or sluttish
-
(of a woman) ruddy in complexion; red-faced
Other Word Forms
- blowsily adverb
- blowsiness noun
Etymology
Origin of blowsy
First recorded in 1760–70; obsolete blowze “wench” (of uncertain origin) + -y 1
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.
Another one of Haskins’ quilts, “Peacocks in Purple,” worked in tonal shades of purple and blue with green accents, hung in the garden framed by blowsy hydrangeas blooms in a similar color palette.
From Seattle Times
Today’s blowsy sweet peas descend from a wildling discovered by a Sicilian monk in the late 17th century.
From Seattle Times
The garden’s blowsy beauty is enhanced by plants left to go to seed, like the ferny fluffs of asparagus and fennel, and the tumbled masses of red- and gold-tinged orach.
From Seattle Times
On Lucy’s introduction to Lily, a voluble, oversharing type who in the 1950s might have been characterized as “blowsy,” the two seem unlikely friends.
From New York Times
Together they came up with an equally humiliating formula, pairing Lisa’s blowsy old actor persona with this violent new format to create The Comeback, perhaps the best comedy about television in the 21st century.
From The Guardian
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.
