Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Affecting extreme elegance in dress and manner: Describes a person, typically a man, who is excessively concerned with and displays a very refined, elaborate, and often showy style in clothing and personal appearance. It implies a deliberate, sometimes exaggerated, adoption of foppish or dandy-like characteristics.

Usage

• The word "dandified" is used as an adjective to describe a person's appearance and demeanor. It often carries a slightly critical or mocking tone, suggesting affectation or pretentiousness rather than genuine, effortless style.
• It is typically applied to men, evoking the historical figure of the "dandy."

Examples

• Adjective:
  • He arrived at the party in a dandified outfit, complete with a velvet jacket and an ornate cane.
  • His dandified manners, including his exaggerated bow, seemed out of place in the casual office.

Advanced Usage

• As a descriptive term in criticism: Often used in literary or social commentary to critique superficiality or excessive attention to fashion over substance.
  • The critic dismissed the poet as a mere dandified aesthete, more concerned with his cravat than his verse.

Variants and Related Words

• Dandy (noun): A man who is excessively concerned with his clothes and appearance; a fop.
  • He was known as a dandy about town.
• Dandify (verb): To make (someone or something) resemble or characteristic of a dandy.
  • He sought to dandify his rather plain wardrobe.
• Dandiacal (adjective): Another, more formal synonym for dandified or characteristic of a dandy.

Synonyms

• Foppish: Concerned with one's clothes and appearance in an affected and excessive way.
• Dapper: Neat and trim in dress and appearance (usually positive, unlike "dandified").
• Natty: Smart and fashionable in dress (can be positive or slightly mocking).
• Beauish: Archaic term for like a beau; foppish.

Antonyms

• Slovenly: Messy and dirty in appearance.
• Unkempt: Not neatly combed, trimmed, or maintained.
• Plain: Not decorated or elaborate; simple.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To put on airs: To behave in a way that is intended to impress others by appearing more sophisticated than one is. This concept is closely related to the affectation implied by "dandified."
  • His dandified posture was just another way to put on airs.

Adjective

1. affecting extreme elegance in dress and manner