frowzy
Americanadjective
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dirty and untidy; slovenly.
-
ill-smelling; musty.
adjective
-
untidy or unkempt in appearance; shabby
-
ill-smelling; frowsty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of frowzy
First recorded in 1675–85; origin uncertain
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:
Each year, right about now, I want to declare it Throw-in-the-Trowel-Week, as the aftermath of spring’s tender, joyous effusion goes beyond charmingly fuzzy to just plain frowzy and tattered.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2021
The excellent Ms. Rogers returns as Harry’s frowzy helpmeet, a woman narcotized by monotony, who can still put on the dog for a handsome stranger.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2018
A frowzy mourning of soot and smoke attired this forlorn creation of Barnard, and it had strewed ashes on its head, and was undergoing penance and humiliation as a mere dust-hole.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 28, 2016
Home is where we sulk and binge-watch The Wire for the 20th time whilst sporting preposterously frowzy, hagged-out velour loungewear.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2015
What I want is a mirror, to see if my lipstick is all right, whether the feathers are too ridiculous, too frowzy.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Ms. Staunton, a magnificent Momma Rose in “Gypsy” two years ago, is surely the frowziest, most compellingly neurotic Sally ever.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2017
To transform one of Manhattan's frowziest avenues into a thing of beauty would be a man-size job.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
