Antonyms for dowdy

Grammar : Adj

Spell : dou-dee

Phonetic Transcription : ˈdaʊ di

Definition of dowdy

Origin : 1580s (n.), "an aukward, ill-dressed, inelegant woman" [Johnson]; 1670s (adj.), perhaps a diminutive of doue "poorly dressed woman" (early 14c.), of uncertain origin. The modern use of dowd (n.) is most likely a back-formation from dowdy. "If plaine or homely, wee saie she is a doudie or a slut" [Barnabe Riche, "Riche his Farewell to Militarie profession," 1581].
You don't have to be dowdy to be a Christian. [Tammy Faye Bakker, "Newsweek," June 8, 1987]
Related: Dowdily; dowdiness.

adj poorly dressed; old-fashioned

Example sentences :

Henry perceived that his mother and his aunt were badly dressed—in truth, dowdy.
Extract from : « A Great Man » by Arnold Bennett

You know you wouldn't like it if I went about in dowdy old things.
Extract from : « Half a Hero » by Anthony Hope

A little girl in Punch improves on the talk of her dowdy mother with the maids.
Extract from : « The Children » by Alice Meynell

So that dowdy get-up is for my benefit, and is not habitual to her!
Extract from : « Man and Maid » by Elinor Glyn

Why do you hide your hair, and wear such a dowdy, high gown, Julia?
Extract from : « The Wolves and the Lamb » by William Makepeace Thackeray

A dowdy in sad-colored print or linsey is by no means to their taste.
Extract from : « Modern Women and What is Said of Them » by Anonymous

Dowdy in dress, and drooping, she showed to great disadvantage.
Extract from : « Sons and Lovers » by David Herbert Lawrence

She felt plain and dowdy beside them, and her spirits suffered in consequence.
Extract from : « Betty Trevor » by Mrs. G. de Horne Vaizey

So was Madeleine, though she had to sit most of the evening by the Princess—such a dowdy!
Extract from : « Democracy An American Novel » by Henry Adams

No, sir, I'm not going out a dowdy to please you or anybody else.
Extract from : « Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures » by Anonymous

Synonyms for dowdy

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019