Skip to main content
frill

frill

17 5.4
A small decorative detail added mainly for appearance rather than function
  • noun
  • /frɪl/
: adorno
  • The dress was enhanced with a delicate frill around the hem, adding a stylish touch.
  • art as a frill

These are communal, socially determined access, not frills for the powerful and the privileged.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • To call art a frill in education, to consider it frivolous, is to offer Socrates another glass of hemlock.

    Academic text (1996)
  • These are communal, socially determined access, not frills for the powerful and the privileged.

  • Most administrators still see the arts as a frill or, at best, something that needs to be justified as contributing to success in academic subjects.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Regardless of all that though, in my humble opinion, this is a great value, no frills keyboard that most people will feel great purchasing.

  • It can get the job done without the frills.

  • Fish cakes, for instance, were pink, and pink was a come-on; it was a frill; it had no substance.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The cost savings come partly from cutting out what the company regards as frills.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Dime store frills abounded in the kitchen, the room Anna hated in the house.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Many generalists and administrators view the arts as frills or as an elitist set of codified elements and vocabularies.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Ripples and frills, curbs and folds would lend the illusion of femininity.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

frippery
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Small decorative things that are fancy and not useful

is a decorative feature added mainly for appearance
falderal
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A showy decoration that is not needed and looks too fancy

is a decorative feature used for appearance rather than function
trumpery
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Cheap objects that look nice but have little value

is a decorative feature, not a general term for cheap goods
gimcrack
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small showy ornament that is cheap and has little value

is a decorative feature not necessarily cheap or worthless
froufrou
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.5

Decorative frills on clothes like lace and ribbons

is a decorative feature added mainly for appearance
gimcrackery
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Cheap fancy items that look attractive but have little value

is a single decorative feature, not a collection of cheap objects
falderol
vsfrill
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Small decorative things that have little value

is a decorative feature rather than plural trivial objects
gauffer
vsfrill
  • Archaic
9.9

A decorative edge of small pressed folds on fabric or paper

is a decorative feature rather than a specific pleating technique
folderal
vsfrill
  • Archaic
9.9

Small decorative things that have little value

is a decorative feature rather than a list of trifles

Antonyms

227 2.0

A thing you need to live, like food or water

functionality
  • Specialized
77 4.6

The things a device or program can do

How Decorative

embellishment
15 5.8
frill
17 5.4
trim
25 3.8

Surface Forms

frill singular
frills plural

Etymology

Frill also came to mean any extra decoration that is not needed, like a showy ruffle added just for looks. So when we say something has 'no frills' we mean it is simple and without unnecessary decoration.