frumpy

[fruhm-pee]

See more synonyms for frumpy on Thesaurus.com

adjective, frump·i·er, frump·i·est.

frumpish.

Origin of frumpy

First recorded in 1740–50; frump + -y¹

Related formsfrump·i·ly, adverbfrump·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for frumpy

Contemporary Examples

More hokey than the inspired objects recalled by the curators: A frumpy teddy bear.
We All Have a Rosebud in Our Pasts
Sam Roberts
October 15, 2014
In the novel, Newton takes up with a frumpy, unlettered Kentucky woman well into middle age.
‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ Is a Classic Twice over—as a Movie and a Novel
Malcolm Jones
February 9, 2014
But relative next to our toned and styled first lady, it was stodgy and frumpy.
Michelle Obama’s Signs of Fashion Restraint on Election Night
Isabel Wilkinson
November 7, 2012
Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) became a frumpy mother of two overweight daughters.
‘Desperate Housewives’: 12 Most-Memorable Moments
Maria Elena Fernandez
May 14, 2012
The knits were heavy, the grape prints looked like table linens, and the long skirts with the high waist were frumpy.
Paris Fall Fashion Week Ends With Vuitton and Kanye
Robin Givhan
March 7, 2012

Historical Examples

She is frumpy enough for anything; and you call that an engagement?
The Heart of Una Sackville
Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
This is my grumpy, frumpy story, and we'll keep it to ourselves, Trot!'
David Copperfield
Charles Dickens
If she had been a stiff, frumpy thing, I just couldn't have paid the least attention to her.
Brenda's Ward
Helen Leah Reed
She has never ceased to talk about the frumpy crowd she met there.
Contrary Mary
Temple Bailey
"Do you know, I really liked her better last year, when she was frumpy and dowdy," faltered Dopsy.
Mount Royal, Volume 3 of 3
Mary Elizabeth Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for frumpy

frumpy

frumpish (ˈfrʌmpɪʃ)

adjective

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

Derived Formsfrumpily or frumpishly, adverbfrumpiness or frumpishness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for frumpy

adj.

1746, "cross-tempered," from frump (n.) "bad temper" (1660s) and an earlier verb meaning "to mock, browbeat" (1550s), of obscure origin, perhaps imitative of a sneer or derisive snort. Sense of "sour-looking, unfashionable" is from 1825, but this may be a shortening of frumple "to wrinkle, crumple" (late 14c.), from Middle Dutch verrompelen, from ver- "completely" + rompelen "to rumple." Related: Frumps. Cf. also frump.

frumpy

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Examples from the Web for frumpy

Contemporary Examples

More hokey than the inspired objects recalled by the curators: A frumpy teddy bear.

In the novel, Newton takes up with a frumpy, unlettered Kentucky woman well into middle age.

But relative next to our toned and styled first lady, it was stodgy and frumpy.

Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) became a frumpy mother of two overweight daughters.

The knits were heavy, the grape prints looked like table linens, and the long skirts with the high waist were frumpy.

Historical Examples

She is frumpy enough for anything; and you call that an engagement?

This is my grumpy, frumpy story, and we'll keep it to ourselves, Trot!'

If she had been a stiff, frumpy thing, I just couldn't have paid the least attention to her.

She has never ceased to talk about the frumpy crowd she met there.

"Do you know, I really liked her better last year, when she was frumpy and dowdy," faltered Dopsy.

frumpy

frumpish (ˈfrʌmpɪʃ)

Word Origin and History for frumpy

adj.

Origin of frumpy