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

• frumpiness noun
• frumpily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of frumpy¹

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

Example Sentences

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.

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

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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.

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However you look, you will feel frumpy compared to everyone else.

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Related Words

• baggy