Definition

Adjective: 1. Dressed in a dowdy, unfashionable, or unattractive way: Describes a person, especially a woman, whose clothing and overall appearance are considered old-fashioned, unstylish, or drab. 2. Primly out of date: Suggests a style that is not only unfashionable but also characterized by an overly conservative or prudish quality.

Examples

• She was a frumpish woman, always wearing faded floral dresses and thick stockings.
• The character was portrayed as a frumpish librarian with glasses and a severe bun.
• He found her frumpish attire charmingly unpretentious, unlike the flashy fashion of others.

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a mildly derogatory or critical connotation, implying a lack of effort or awareness regarding current style.
• It can describe not just clothing but also an overall demeanor or aesthetic that seems deliberately old-fashioned or lacking in vibrancy.
• "To look frumpish": To appear in a frumpish manner.
  • She didn't want to look frumpish at the party, so she bought a new dress.

Variants and Related Words

• Frumpy (adjective): The more common variant, identical in meaning to "frumpish."
  • She felt frumpy in her old sweatpants.
• Frump (noun): A person, typically a woman, who dresses in a frumpish manner.
  • The novel's villain was a gossipy old frump.

Synonyms

• Dowdy
• Unfashionable
• Drab
• Old-fashioned
• Fusty

Antonyms

• Stylish
• Fashionable
• Chic
• Trendy
• Elegant

Adjective

1. primly out of date
   • nothing so frumpish as last year's gambling game