Standard Lemma guide

undress

noun · verb · 11 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

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.

  • ŭn-drĕs'
  • /ʌnˈdɹɛs/
  • /ˈʌndɹɛs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛs
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N D R EH1 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Partial or informal dress for women, as worn in the home rather than in public.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, historical, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Informal clothing for men, as opposed to formal or ceremonial wear.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, historical, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Now more specifically, a state of having few or no clothes on.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • She returned to her dorm to find her roommate, fresh out of the shower, in a state of undress.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To remove one's clothing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, reflexive

Examples

  • She undressed herself before putting on her bedclothes.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To remove one’s clothing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • The doctor asked me to undress for the examination.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disrobe

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To remove the clothing of (someone).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • Mary began to undress her daughter in preparation for bathtime.
  • The young men slowly and sensually undressed each other before making passionate love.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To strip something off.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To take the dressing, or covering, from.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • to undress a wound

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

partial or complete nakedness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a state of undress

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nakedness, nudity, nudeness

10

verb

Meaning 10

get undressed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • please don't undress in front of everybody!
  • She strips in front of strangers every night for a living

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: discase, uncase, unclothe, strip, strip down, disrobe, peel

Antonyms: dress

Broader terms: take off

Narrower terms: take off

11

verb

Meaning 11

remove (someone's or one's own) clothes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The nurse quickly undressed the accident victim
  • She divested herself of her outdoor clothes
  • He disinvested himself of his garments

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: strip, divest, disinvest

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: remove, take, take away, withdraw

History

Etymology

From Middle English undressen, equivalent to un- + dress. Compare Old English unsċrȳdan (“to undress”, literally “un-shroud”).

Across languages

Translations

198 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: халат (halat) — informal dress
  • Finnish: rytkyt — informal dress
  • Finnish: arkiasu — informal dress
  • Polish: dezabil — informal dress
  • Polish: negliż — informal dress
  • Finnish: alastomuus — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Finnish: vaatteettomuus — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Icelandic: klæðaleysi — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Persian: لخت (lokht) — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Persian: برهنه (berahneh) — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Polish: dezabil — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Polish: negliż — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Swedish: nakenhet — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Swedish: klädlöshet — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Ottoman Turkish: صویغونلق (soygunluk) — state of having little or no clothes on
  • Albanian: zhvishem — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Albanian: desh (gheg) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Arabic: تَعَرَّى (taʕarrā) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Arabic: اِنْجَرَدَ (injarada) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Arabic: شَلَحَ (šalaḥa) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Arabic: شلح (šálaḥ) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Armenian: հանվել (hanvel) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Armenian: մերկանալ (merkanal) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Azerbaijani: soyunmaq — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Basque: erantzi — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Belarusian: раздзява́цца (razdzjavácca) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Belarusian: раздзе́цца (razdzjécca) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Belarusian: распрана́цца (raspranácca) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Belarusian: распрану́цца (raspranúcca) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Breton: diwiskañ — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Bulgarian: събли́чам се (sǎblíčam se) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Bulgarian: съблека́ се (sǎbleká se) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Catalan: despullar-se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Catalan: desvestir-se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Chinese Cantonese: 除衫 (ceoi4 saam1) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Chinese Cantonese: 剝衫 /剥衫 (mok1 saam1) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 脫衣 /脱衣 (tuōyī) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 脫掉衣服 /脱掉衣服 (tuōdiào yīfú) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Czech: svlékat se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Czech: svléknout se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Czech: svléct se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Czech: svléci se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Danish: klæde sig af — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Dutch: zich uitkleden — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Esperanto: senvestiĝi — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Estonian: lahti riietuma — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Finnish: riisuuntua — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Finnish: riisuutua — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • French: se déshabiller — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Galician: espirse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • German: sich ausziehen — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Greek: γδύνομαι (gdýnomai) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Greek: ξεντύνομαι (xentýnomai) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Ancient Greek: ἐκδύω (ekdúō) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Hebrew: התפשט (hitpashét) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Hindi: कपड़े उतार्ना (kapṛe utārnā) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Hungarian: levetkőzik — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Icelandic: afklæðast — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Icelandic: fara úr — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Ido: desvestizar su — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Italian: spogliarsi — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Italian: svestirsi — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Japanese: 脱ぐ (nugu) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Khmer: ដោះខោអាវ (dɑh khao ʼaaw) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Korean: 옷을 벗다 (oseul beotda) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Central Kurdish: خۆ داکەنین (xo dakenîn) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: xwe veşelandin — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: (cil) ji ber xwe kirin — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: xwe rûs kirin — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: xwe tazî kirin — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Latvian: izģērbties — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Latvian: noģērbties — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Lithuanian: nusirengti — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Lithuanian: išsirengti — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Macedonian: се соблекува (se soblekuva) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Macedonian: се соблече (se sobleče) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Malay: noģērbt — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Malayalam: തുണി അഴിക്കുക (tuṇi aḻikkuka) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Maltese: neża’ — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Māori: marere — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Nepali: कपडा खोल्नु (kapaḍā kholnu) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Norman: sé d'sabilyi — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kle av seg — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Persian: لخت شدن (lokht shodan) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Polish: rozbierać się — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Polish: rozebrać się — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Portuguese: despir-se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Portuguese: tirar a roupa — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Romanian: se dezbrăca — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Russian: раздева́ться (razdevátʹsja) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Russian: разде́ться (razdétʹsja) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: сву̑ћи се — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: svȗći se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Slovak: vyzliekať sa — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Slovak: vyzliecť sa — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Slovene: sleči se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Lower Sorbian: zeblekaś se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Lower Sorbian: zeblac se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Upper Sorbian: slěkać se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Upper Sorbian: slec se — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Spanish: desvestirse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Spanish: desnudarse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Spanish: calatearse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Spanish: desarroparse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Swahili: kuvua — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Swedish: klä av sig — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Turkish: soyunmak — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Ukrainian: роздяга́тися (rozdjahátysja) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Ukrainian: роздягти́ся (rozdjahtýsja) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Ukrainian: роздягну́тися (rozdjahnútysja) — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Venetan: spojarse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Venetan: despojarse — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Welsh: dadwisgo — (intransitive) remove one's clothing
  • Albanian: zhvesh — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Arabic: تَعَرَّى (taʕarrā) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Armenian: մերկացնել (merkacʻnel) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Azerbaijani: soymaq — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Belarusian: раздзява́ць (razdzjavácʹ) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Belarusian: раздзе́ць (razdzjécʹ) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Belarusian: распрана́ць (raspranácʹ) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Belarusian: распрану́ць (raspranúcʹ) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Breton: diwiskañ — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Bulgarian: събли́чам (sǎblíčam) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Bulgarian: съблека́ (sǎbleká) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Catalan: despullar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Catalan: desvestir — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 脫衣 /脱衣 (tuōyī) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 脫掉衣服 /脱掉衣服 (tuōdiào yīfú) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Czech: svlékat — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Czech: svléknout — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Czech: svléct — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Czech: svléci — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Danish: afklæde — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Dutch: uitkleden — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Esperanto: senvestigi — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Estonian: lahti riietama — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Finnish: riisua — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • French: déshabiller — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Galician: espir — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Galician: denudar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Galician: desvestir — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Galician: encoirar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • German: ausziehen — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Greek: γδύνω (gdýno) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Greek: ξεντύνω (xentýno) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Hebrew: הפשיט (hifshít) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Hungarian: levetkőztet — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Icelandic: afklæða — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Icelandic: færa úr — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Ido: desvestizar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Italian: spogliare — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Italian: svestire — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Japanese: 脱がす (nugasu) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Korean: 옷을 벗기다 (oseul beotgida) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: veşelandin — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: (cil) ji ber kirin — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: rûs kirin — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Northern Kurdish: tazî kirin — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Latvian: izģērbt — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Latvian: noģērbt — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Lithuanian: nuvilkti — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Lithuanian: nurengti — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Luxembourgish: ausdoen — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Macedonian: соблекува (soblekuva) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Macedonian: соблече (sobleče) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Maltese: neża’ — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Manx: neuchoamree — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Māori: whakahahake — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Norman: d'sabilyi — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kle av — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Polish: rozbierać — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Polish: rozebrać — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Portuguese: despir — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Portuguese: desvestir — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Quechua: ch'utiy — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Romanian: dezbrăca — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Russian: раздева́ть (razdevátʹ) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Russian: разде́ть (razdétʹ) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: сву̑ћи — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Serbo-Croatian: svȗći — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Slovak: vyzliekať — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Slovak: vyzliecť — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Slovene: sleči — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Lower Sorbian: zeblekaś — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Lower Sorbian: zeblac — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Upper Sorbian: slěkać — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Upper Sorbian: slec — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Spanish: desvestir — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Spanish: calatear — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Spanish: desnudar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Spanish: desarropar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Swedish: klä av — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Turkish: soymak — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Ukrainian: роздяга́ти (rozdjaháty) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Ukrainian: роздягти́ (rozdjahtý) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Ukrainian: роздягну́ти (rozdjahnúty) — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Venetan: spojar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing
  • Venetan: despojar — (transitive) remove somebody’s clothing