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Glite Dictionary
girlie dress

girlie dress

3.5
A dress with soft decorative details like ruffles or ribbons that shows a feminine style
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : vestido femenino
  • The boutique specializes in selling girlie dresses with ruffles and ribbons.

Examples

  • Her girlie dress featured pastel colors and delicate lace, perfect for the spring party.

  • The little girl picked out a girlie dress with flowers.

  • She wore a very girlie dress to the wedding.

  • She wore a girlie dress to the party.

  • Her girlie dress featured pastel colors and delicate lace, perfect for the spring party.

  • The boutique specializes in selling girlie dresses with ruffles and ribbons.

  • The little girl picked out a girlie dress with flowers.

Synonyms

dress
vsgirlie dress
∞ 1.0

A one-piece outfit for women or girls with a top and skirt

is narrower meaning a notably feminine and decorative style
frock
vsgirlie dress
  • UK
16 5.5

A woman's or girl's one-piece dress with a skirt and fitted top

is a specifically feminine playful style rather than a general garment
missyish dress
vsgirlie dress
8.9

A dress with a young, playful, slightly childlike style

is more broadly feminine and delicate rather than specifically childlike
twirly dress
vsgirlie dress
3.0

A dress with a full skirt that spins when you turn

is feminine and decorative but not only defined by skirt movement
poofy dress
vsgirlie dress
3.2

A dress with a full, puffed skirt that sticks out

is feminine and dainty with focus on style rather than volume

Antonyms

masculine
85 3.7

Having qualities people often connect with men, for example strength and toughness

How Feminine

frilly
16 4.1
girlie dress
  • Informal
3.5
feminine
173 3.4
simple
220 1.0
any old dress
  • Informal
1.6

Surface Forms

girlie dress singular
girlie dresses plural

Morphology

girlie + dress

The meaning 'a dress that is especially feminine or playful' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'girlie' (styled in conventionally feminine, youthful ways) with 'dress' (a one-piece garment). This adjective + noun composition follows a regular, compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Girlie dress comes from adding the friendly ending -ie to girl, which makes the word sound smaller and more playful. So imagine pastel colors, lace and ribbons — a dress like that is called girlie, meaning especially 'feminine' and 'cute'.