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dowdiness

dowdiness

8.2
A style of dressing that looks plain and old-fashioned
  • noun
  • /ˈdaʊdiness/
translation icon : desaliño
  • Despite its dawdiness, the old café had a charm that attracted loyal customers.

Examples

  • "Het up like she was, her true nature blazed through all the layers of prim and proper dowdiness she'd wrapped around herself.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • In the mirror, my long navy skirt and ivory sweater set reflected dull good taste and a hint of dowdiness.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • To McMoran, it seems like fate's small revenge that Ormston should be struck down before his time: his own wife has long ago given in to dowdiness and fat.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Her outfit was characterized by a sense of dawdiness, making her feel out of place at the trendy party.

  • The dawdiness of the room's decor suggested that it hadn't been updated in years.

Synonyms

blandness
vsdowdiness
1 4.1

A pleasant, polite style that feels too safe or insincere

leans more toward being unfashionable and lacking elegance
flatness
vsdowdiness
1 4.9

A lack of taste and energy in food or writing

applies that dullness specifically to being unfashionable and inelegant
drabness
vsdowdiness
1 5.1

A plain, dull appearance with no bright color or style

extends that visual dullness to overall style and elegance
homeliness
vsdowdiness
1 7.4

A plain look that is not attractive

emphasizes being out of fashion as well as plainness
frumpiness
vsdowdiness
  • Informal
6.8

A style of dress that is old-fashioned and untidy

is broader, covering general lack of style and elegance
unfashionableness
vsdowdiness
7.0

A state of not being stylish in clothes or appearance

focuses more on dullness and loss of elegance as well
plainness
vsdowdiness
4.6

Not having an attractive appearance

adds an unfashionable, dull quality to simple appearance
prosaicness
vsdowdiness
9.1

The quality of being ordinary and not exciting

adds a fashion and elegance dimension to mere ordinariness
stodginess
vsdowdiness
  • UK
8.4

A serious, old-fashioned style that feels boring

is less about solemnity and more about lack of style
tameness
vsdowdiness
5.8

The quality of being boring and unoriginal

narrows that dullness to missing fashion and elegance features
austereness
vsdowdiness
8.6

A very plain, simple style with no decoration or luxury

connects plainness specifically to unfashionable, inelegant appearance
hominess
vsdowdiness
9.5

A plain, unattractive look of a person or building

frames that plainness in terms of being unfashionable and dull

Antonyms

47 3.5

A graceful, stylish way of looking or behaving that shows good taste

How Unfashionable

dowdiness
8.2
plainness
1 3.5

Surface Forms

dowdiness singular
dowdinesses plural

Morphology

dowdiness = dowdy (transparent) = dowdy + ness

Formed by the adjective 'dowdy' plus the regular nominalizing suffix '-ness', yielding the straightforward meaning 'the quality of being dowdy'.

Etymology

Dowdiness comes from the adjective dowdy, meaning 'unfashionable' or 'shabby', and it may be linked to the old word dud for 'old clothes'. So, think of worn 'duds' or shabby clothes as a memory: dowdiness is the quality of looking dull or out of style.