modish
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- modishly adverb
- modishness noun
- unmodish adjective
- unmodishly adverb
Etymology
Origin of modish
Explanation
Something modish is fashionable and stylish. It's a-la-mode, or right on top of the latest look. In the 1970s, it was considered modish to wear bell bottoms. The word modish is a combination of the French mode meaning "fashion" and the suffix -ish meaning "very common." When something is modish, it's all the rage. A swanky restaurant where it's hard to get a table or a boutique selling the newest designer labels are considered modish, or in vogue. Open up the pages of Vogue and you'll be accosted with the latest modish looks.
Vocabulary lists containing modish
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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The Cat I Never Named
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2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (M-Z)
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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.
The futuristic coat - modish in the 1960s - is also indicative of how the Queen was in sync with the times.
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025
Gray surrounded himself with what journalist Jack Anderson called “sharp, but inexperienced, modish, young aides.”
From Salon • Oct. 4, 2025
“It was as if the newer, more modish performance practices had shaken his convictions about his own straightforwardness just enough to undercut his effectiveness,” John Rockwell wrote in The Times in 1980.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2021
“Portraits of an Era” parades modish men and women.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2019
The modish bonnet with curling white feathers seemed to her uncle a crowning affront.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
