gentlemen's attire
- noun
- /ˈdʒɛntəlmənz əˈtaɪər/
- Formal
:
atuendo de caballero
- The invitation specified that guests should wear gentlemen's attire for the gala dinner.
Examples
-
He wore a stylish gentlemen's attire to the wedding.
-
He arrived at the wedding in immaculate gentlemen's attire, complete with a top hat and gloves.
-
Renting gentlemen's attire is common for proms and black-tie events.
-
Are you going to wear your gentleman's attire for the gala?
-
He wore a tailored suit as part of his gentlemen's attire for the wedding ceremony.
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For the gala, many attendees showed up in traditional gentlemen's attire, including bow ties and tuxedos.
-
At the formal dinner, all the men were expected to dress in gentlemen's attire to reflect the occasion's elegance.
Synonyms
24
6.5
Clothes of a special type worn for a role or occasion
3
3.6
Clothes for special events in the evening, like suits or long dresses
3
3.8
Clothes worn for formal evening events, like a suit or long dress
1
4.2
Clothes worn for formal evening events like dinners or parties
1
3.5
A dress, suit, or gown people wear for special occasions
Antonyms
How Formal
- Formal
2
7.0
- Formal
16
1.8
1
3.4
81
1.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
gentlemen's + attire
The meaning 'formal clothing for men' is directly and compositionally derived from 'gentlemen's' (belonging to gentlemen/men) + 'attire' (clothing). This is a standard possessive noun + noun construction common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Gentlemen's attire may come from older rules about how to dress: gentlemen was a polite name for well-dressed men and attire simply means clothes. People pictured men in suits, top hats, and gloves at special events, so gentlemen's attire now means the formal clothes men wear to weddings and ceremonies.