boudoir
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of boudoir
1775–85; < French: literally, a sulking place ( boud ( er ) to sulk + -oir -ory 2 )
Explanation
Boudoir is a slightly old-fashioned word for a bedroom. You could invite a friend for a sleepover and say, "You can sleep on the spare bed in my boudoir." These days, the word boudoir is mainly used for its humorous effect. You may also come across it in an old book or movie, almost always referring to a woman's private bedroom. A boudoir is comfortable and luxurious, and the word itself was popular among the upper class in the 18th century, from the French and meaning "pouting room," from bouder, "to pout" or "to sulk."
Vocabulary lists containing boudoir
English Words Derived from French, List 4
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The Haunting of Hill House
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The Poisonwood Bible
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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.
As framed by beautiful, evocative pairings that punctuate the show’s final galleries, the conversation continued, with some of Manet’s later boudoir interiors and portraits of fashionable Parisiennes unthinkable without Morisot’s example.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
Giger’s boudoir — that’s engineered to anticipate and eliminate every discomfort.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2022
She's joined in the boudoir by her "precious little sweetheart" Violet, a fluffy white Coton de Tulear; while an assistant bustles around in the background, fetching lyric sheets and acting as a fact-checker.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2021
The boudoir here has no four-poster bed or even a headboard, just a single mattress on a box spring with an unstable pile of books nearby.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2020
I didn’t have anything invested in Africa yet but a little old apartment boudoir decorated to the best of my abilities in blush pink.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
