undress
Americanverb (used with object)
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undresses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
undressed,
past participle, past
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undrest,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
undressing
present participle
-
to take the clothes off (a person); disrobe.
-
to remove the dressing from (a wound, sore, etc.).
-
to strip or divest of or as if of a covering; expose.
to undress a pretense.
verb (used without object)
-
undresses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
undressed,
past participle, past
-
undrest,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
undressing
present participle
noun
-
dress of a style designed to be worn on other than highly formal or ceremonial occasions; informal dress as opposed to full dress.
-
dress of a style not designed to be worn in public; dishabille; negligee.
She couldn't receive guests in such a state of undress.
-
the condition of being unclothed; nakedness.
adjective
-
of or relating to clothing of a style less formal than full dress.
undress uniform.
-
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
-
partial or complete nakedness
-
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
-
are undressingprogressive
-
is undressingprogressive
-
have been undressingperfect progressive
-
has been undressingperfect progressive
Past
-
undressedsimple
-
undrestsimple
-
had undressedperfect
-
had undrestperfect
-
was undressingprogressive
-
were undressingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
“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
The military said it makes detainees undress to search for explosives, bringing detainees into Israel before releasing them back into Gaza if they’re deemed innocent.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
“I had to undress to my underwear for a short period, it was very uncomfortable. They did not want to let me use the bathroom, for example.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023
Make it to the bedroom, he urged himself, undress, curl into cool sheets, tell him I came home sick, must be a virus, twenty-four hour flu, and keep my face hidden.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
“Part of what the motion does is it undresses what you’re in, so it forces your hand a little bit,” McDermott said.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 28, 2023
The letter’s flipped position within the word “bar” undresses the long-accepted expectation when a person wants to eat, drink and watch a game in a restaurant.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2022
Now, he pulls straight into the garage, undresses there, stuffs his uniform into the washing machine, disinfects his equipment and then heads straight for the shower before touching anyone.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2020
Behind the curtain of biography, betrayal and striving, “Fosse/Verdon” undresses into a story about haunted people, a pair of artists inexorably pushed by past abuses and the fear of failure they produced.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2019
She starts taking out books and her computer from her bag before she even undresses.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
"I got undressed and went outside to wash myself."
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
A nurse asks me to get undressed from the waist up and put on a gown with the opening in front.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Of course, the suggestion was unserious but it usefully if frontally undressed a reality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
"We will carefully assess these changes to make sure they effectively protect citizens in the EU," European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in a statement, which followed sharp criticism over the nonconsensual undressed images.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
When the headaches struck, the general went to his room, undressed, turned off the light, locked the door, and didn’t come out until the pain subsided.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Falsehood more leisurely undrest, And, laying by her tawdry vest, Trick'd herself out in Truth's array, And 'cross the meadows tript away.
From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by Parton, James
The Duke getting notice, came running undrest to lament his fate, saying, Alas, Sir! what is the matter?
From Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) A Brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions of the Most Eminent Scots Worthies by Howie, John
She was soon undrest; for she had no jewels to deposit in their caskets, nor fine laces to fold with the nicest exactness.
From Joseph Andrews, Volume 2 by Fielding, Henry
Keep your undrest, familiar style For strangers, but respect your friend, Her most, whose matrimonial smile Is and asks honour without end.
From Angel in the House by Patmore, Coventry Kersey Dighton
Tho' sometimes rude, unpolish'd and undrest His Sentence flows, more careless than the rest.
From Discourse on Criticism and of Poetry (1707) From Poems On Several Occasions (1707) by Cobb, Samuel
Where “Ghost World” was concerned with its own quirky hipness and “Paris” with undressing its women, Park’s “Shortcomings” feels immediate and personal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Rapp testified at a deposition that there was no kissing, no undressing, no reaching under clothes and no sexualized statements or innuendo during an encounter that lasted no more than two minutes, the judge said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2022
The witness recalled seeing the pair run down some steps to the riverbank before partially undressing and jumping in.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2021
Young had returned home from work and was undressing for bed when police barged in, the AP adds.
From Fox News ● Aug. 13, 2021
“They would stay dryer if I left them on and stayed out of the water,” said Cole as he began undressing.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
