frump

[ fruhmp ]
See synonyms for frump on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who is dowdy, drab, and unattractive.

  2. a dull, old-fashioned person.

Origin of frump

1
First recorded in 1545–55; origin uncertain

Other words from frump

  • frumpish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use frump in a sentence

  • Presidents' wives are usually such dreary-looking frumps I'd hate to be in the same book with them.

    The Californians | Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
  • I'll trust your instinct in such matters, Mort; you've never been one to run after frumps and minxes.

    The Tyranny of the Dark | Hamlin Garland
  • When the gossip-peddlers brought her this fierce verdict she was hardened enough to scorn the respectables as frumps.

    We Can't Have Everything | Rupert Hughes
  • The criminals are flattered to meet the frumps, and the frumps find the criminals thrilling.

    The Guests Of Hercules | C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
  • This was one of our male frumps: like an owl, with négligé eyebrows, and quite mad, round eyes behind convex glasses.

    The Guests Of Hercules | C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for frump

frump

/ (frʌmp) /


noun
  1. a woman who is dowdy, drab, or unattractive

Origin of frump

1
C16 (in the sense: to be sullen; C19: dowdy woman): from Middle Dutch verrompelen to wrinkle, rumple

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012