Phrase guide

clothes make the man

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

proverb

Meaning 1

A person's clothing and appearance significantly defines or reveals their character, status, or worth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: clothes don't make the man

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 人靠衣裝馬靠鞍 /人靠衣装马靠鞍 (rén kào yīzhuāng mǎ kào ān) — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Czech: šaty dělají člověka — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Danish: klæder skaber folk — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Dutch: kleren maken de man — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Finnish: vaatteet tekevät miehen — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • French: l’habit fait le moine — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • German: Kleider machen Leute — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Hungarian: a ruha teszi az embert — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Polish: szata zdobi człowieka — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Portuguese: o hábito faz o monge — a person's appearances count for a lot
  • Spanish: el hábito hace al monje — a person's appearances count for a lot