undress
Americanverb (used with object)
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to take the clothes off (a person); disrobe.
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to remove the dressing from (a wound, sore, etc.).
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to strip or divest of or as if of a covering; expose.
to undress a pretense.
verb (used without object)
noun
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dress of a style designed to be worn on other than highly formal or ceremonial occasions; informal dress as opposed to full dress.
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dress of a style not designed to be worn in public; dishabille; negligee.
She couldn't receive guests in such a state of undress.
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the condition of being unclothed; nakedness.
adjective
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of or relating to clothing of a style less formal than full dress.
undress uniform.
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characterized by informality of dress, manners, or the like.
an undress dinner party.
verb
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to take off clothes from (oneself or another)
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(tr) to strip of ornamentation
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(tr) to remove the dressing from (a wound)
noun
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partial or complete nakedness
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informal or normal working clothes or uniform
adjective
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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undresssimple
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undressessimple
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have undressedperfect
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have undrestperfect
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has undressedperfect
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has undrestperfect
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am undressingprogressive
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are undressingprogressive
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is undressingprogressive
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have been undressingperfect progressive
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has been undressingperfect progressive
Past
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undressedsimple
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undrestsimple
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had undressedperfect
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had undrestperfect
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was undressingprogressive
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were undressingprogressive
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had been undressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of undress
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.
“I think we achieved it, but along the way, we had to undress the character’s successes and failures, many of which had consequences in his life,” Gómez Fernandez says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2025
They further claim that, once in the home, the men were told to undress in the kitchen, and then to warm their hands with hot water or on a radiator.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 2024
When she’d get home from a long day, she’d undress outside and sprint to the shower, worried about exposing her wife and two children to the coronavirus.
From Washington Post • Oct. 15, 2021
“Like a metaphorical state of undress, they’ve let their head down and show are who they really are,” she said.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 1, 2021
Theresa’s lashes caught at the corners of her lids; and as she closed her door and began to undress, something about removing her layers and hanging them up proved too much to bear.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
