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.

The actress dowdies up her portrayal with a glumly unsmiling demeanor and the flat, poignantly cynical vocal delivery of the nerd who’s smarter — and more annoying — than everyone else in the room.

From Washington Post • Oct. 20, 2016

Julie Andrews, Carol Channing, Ann Margret, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave and Raquel Welch are the other distinguished dowdies, but it's not really their fault.

From Time Magazine Archive

Well, perhaps if we take care of the dowdies and the butchers and the bakers, the beauties and the bigwigs will take care of themselves.

From Press Cuttings by Shaw, Bernard

The ladies dazzle him; he thinks of "our London dowdies" and shudders; but alas! he cannot talk to them.

From The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies by Besant, Walter, Sir

Oh, anything to get away from the dowagers and the dowdies.

From A Woman of No Importance by Wilde, Oscar