adj
Meaning 1
Plain and unfashionable in style or dress.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
dowdy
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK, US: dou'dē
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UK, US: /ˈdaʊdi/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -aʊdi
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homophone: doughty (in accents with flapping)
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CMU ARPABET: D AW1 D IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 3
A surname from Irish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
A plain or shabby person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To press the crust into the filling during baking, to allow the juices to caramelize on top.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Topics: cooking, food, lifestyle
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 6
primly out of date
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- nothing so frumpish as last year's gambling game
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: frumpy, frumpish
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
lacking in smartness or taste
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a dowdy grey outfit
- a clean and sunny but completely dowdy room
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
deep-dish apple dessert covered with a rich crust
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pandowdy
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: pastry
noun
Meaning 9
British marshal of the RAF who commanded the British air defense forces that defeated the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1882-1970)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Dowding, Hugh Dowding, Baron Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: general, full general, marshal, marshall
History
Etymology
First appears c. 1581. Origin uncertain, probably literally "little poorly dressed woman," formed from doue, "poorly dressed woman". Possibly also related to the Scots dow, meaning to "fade".
Variant of Dowd.
Across languages
Translations
34 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Czech: neelegantní — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Czech: staromódní — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Finnish: tyylitön — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- French: vieux jeu — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- German: schäbig — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- German: unelegant — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Greek: κακοντυμένος (kakontyménos) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Russian: немо́дный (nemódnyj) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Russian: неэлега́нтный (neelegántnyj) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Russian: безвку́сный (bezvkúsnyj) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Swedish: smaklös — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Swedish: omodern — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Swedish: tarvlig — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Swedish: torftig — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Turkish: hırpani — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Turkish: pejmürde — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Turkish: yırtık pırtık — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Ukrainian: немодний (nemodnyj) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Ukrainian: старомодний (staromodnyj) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Ukrainian: без смаку (bez smaku) — plain and unfashionable in style or dress
- Czech: ošuntělý — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Finnish: tyylitön — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Finnish: mauton — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Finnish: nuhjuinen — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- German: abgetragen — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- German: schäbig — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Māori: kanukanu — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Russian: неэлега́нтный (neelegántnyj) — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Spanish: desastrado — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Swedish: sjaskig — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Swedish: slampig — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Swedish: lunsig — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Turkish: eski püskü — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby
- Turkish: pejmürde — lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby