dowdy
1 Americanadjective
-
not stylish; drab; old-fashioned.
Why do you always wear those dowdy old dresses?
- Synonyms:
- frumpy
- Antonyms:
- stylish, fashionable
-
not neat or tidy; shabby.
noun
plural
dowdiesnoun
plural
dowdiesadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- dowdily adverb
- dowdiness noun
- dowdyish adjective
- dowdyism noun
Etymology
Origin of dowdy1
1300–50; Middle English doude unattractive woman (of uncertain origin) + -y 1 or -y 2
Origin of dowdy1
First recorded in 1935–40; short form
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.
She wore dowdy skirts with equally drab cardigans.
From Los Angeles Times
Unthinkable as it seems, Edna was dowdy then, given to mousy brown hair and pillbox hats.
From New York Times
It opened hundreds of stores, from fashionable neighborhoods like SoHo in New York to dowdy airports.
From New York Times
“I felt like I was pretending when I was going in and auditioning to play these dowdy people.”
From New York Times
Coupled with a terrific performance by Long Beach Opera that includes more than one star turn, the dowdy Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro became the unlikely locale for a double operatic triumph.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
