frilly
Americanadjective
-
covered with or marked by frills.
Some of the more elaborate dress shirts have frilly fronts.
-
frivolous; inconsequential.
After a day of intense concentration and serious business, they feel like doing something frilly and amusing.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of frilly
Explanation
Frilly things are lacy, decorative, or ruffled. A little girl might refuse to wear a frilly dress on the first day of school, preferring instead to wear overalls and purple rain boots. Your grandma might have a favorite frilly apron that she wears when she bakes, and your cousin might dream of wearing a frilly white gown when she gets married. Frilly curtains are probably too cute and fussy for your kitchen if your decorating style is clean and modern. Even language can be described, figuratively, as frilly if it's showy or overly fancy.
Vocabulary lists containing frilly
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Thing About Jellyfish
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Coraline
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
She said: "Seeing stoma bags that are glittery and frilly it shows people that we're not just patients we're actually people."
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
She wore a white frilly shirt and distressed black jorts and loafers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
She knew how to poke fun at pious men in frilly dickeys, and rhapsodize on the pleasures found in everyday life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
A woman with tears in her eyes showed me the frilly pink pussyhat she originally acquired in 2017.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2025
“Dress her in pants and a shirt—something loose, nothing frilly or revealing, and bring a cloak.”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Anderson is played by Lily James, best known for appearing in rather frillier period costume as an English aristocrat's daughter in Downton Abbey.
From Reuters ● Jan. 31, 2022
The general tendency was toward texture — there’s that word again — as in a sporty mesh inserted into a knitted sweater, with a frillier skirt.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2014
Along with feeding Actress Walker her lines, Margaret Phillips plays the other wife in the frillier style of high comedy.
From Time Magazine Archive
Today, although interest in the frillier postmodern forms is waning, many architects and designers are taking a further leap in the same direction.
From Time Magazine Archive
The frilliest forms are in-your-face flamboyant, and even the more restrained varieties are irresistibly big and eye-catching.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2016
Her pakora-fried chicken in the lightest, frilliest dosa pancake, perked up with homemade chutneys and spiked by "gunpowder" spice mixes, is officially one of the most delicious things I've tasted, ever.
From The Guardian ● May 30, 2014
Then she selected the frilliest of Maggie's blouses, which had dried while she talked, and spread it on the ironing table to sprinkle again.
From The Wishing Moon by Dutton, Louise Elizabeth
So I read them the gayest, frilliest little stories I can find, that are really nice, and they adore it.
From The Merryweathers by Richards, Julia Ward
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.
