frumpy

[fruhm-pee]

adjective

frumpier, frumpiest 

1. frumpish.

frumpy

/ ˈfrʌmpɪʃ, ˈfrʌmpɪ /

adjective

1. (of a woman, clothes, etc) dowdy, drab, or unattractive

Other Word Forms

• frumpily adverb
• frumpiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of frumpy¹

First recorded in 1740–50; frump + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Equihua is reimagining the frumpy image of the adult pajama, afterthought cotton shirts and old worn-in lover’s shorts that would never see the light of day.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They cited her “frumpy cardigan, shapeless above-the-knee shift” and, get this, “‘demure’ makeup.”

Read more on Salon

Still, Birkenstock has much else going for it - including the ability to stay popular decades since first becoming well-known as somewhat frumpy but comfortable sandals that complete a laidback, hippie look.

Read more on Reuters

The drape, fit and feel of clothes are her passion and her living, but her own outfit is pallid, frumpy — a kind of camouflage.

Read more on New York Times

Humphries’ obituaries have demarcated the journey she took to get here, from frumpy 1950s Melbourne hausfrau to 1980s glamazon, yet once she arrived, she seemed to have been waiting for us all along.

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• baggy