blowsy
Americanadjective
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having a coarse, ruddy complexion.
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disheveled in appearance; unkempt.
adjective
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(esp of a woman) untidy in appearance; slovenly or sluttish
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(of a woman) ruddy in complexion; red-faced
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of blowsy
First recorded in 1760–70; obsolete blowze “wench” (of uncertain origin) + -y 1
Explanation
Someone who's blowsy is disheveled and frumpy. Your blowsy Aunt Jan might have long, messy hair and wear slightly shabby clothes. Traditionally, the adjective blowsy has been used mainly to describe dowdy older women, although it sometimes implies a perceivable sexuality as well. You can also describe lush, overblown flowers that are a bit past their peak bloom as blowsy: "I prefer daisies, but my mom is partial to big, blowsy roses." The word dates from the 17th century and comes from a now-obsolete term for "a beggar's female companion," blowze.
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.
Parker Posey’s blowsy Southern mama probably has the best shot from ‘The White Lotus’’ large cast of scene-stealers.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025
Steffen is also partial to the blowsy summer blooms of mophead hydrangeas, especially ‘Preziosa’, a well-mannered shrub with dramatic dark stems that’s easy to keep in scale with the rest of the garden.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
At other times Exley's smoky eloquence turns blowsy and verbose.
From Slate • Aug. 10, 2015
One of the funny, but doom-laden, elements in “A Christmas Garland” is the mockery of Galsworthy’s and Bennett’s loquaciousness, which carried within it the seeds of the idea that anything big and long is blowsy.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 3, 2015
She was a blowsy woman with dyed yellow hair, and from time to time we saw her out in the front yard, chopping wood or filling a scuttle from the coal pile.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
