to ruffle

Examples

• All

• She decided to ruffle the fabric at the hem of her dress to add a decorative flair.

• To create a vintage look, he chose to ruffle the edges of the curtains in his living room.

• See, I met this guy backstage one night with a ruffled shirt on.

  Funny Girl (1968)

• Wearing a dinner jacket with dark slacks and a ruffled white shirt, Don looked very elegant.

  Fiction book (1991)

• Her skirt was as stiff as a tutu, and it flew out to reveal her ruffled slip.

  Fiction book (1991)

• Mama's boots had little tassels on the side, her bodice white and ruffled.

  Fiction book (2001)

• I've got a long-sleeved burgundy lace dress that I'll wear over a black, ruffled, mid-calf length slip.

  Blog text (27)

• Yellow-and-pink-checked fabric on two armchairs, ruffled at the edges, so it looked as if Bobette had dressed them in pinafores.

  Fiction book (1996)

• His infant seat, with the bouncy quilted liner and the colorful ruffled edges, is on the floor near the stone hearth.

  Fiction book (1998)

• A tanned blonde in a flamenco dress with ruffled sleeves and a plunging neckline comes over to the table.

  Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

P

to pleat

vsto ruffle

13 4.4

To fold fabric into narrow even folds to shape clothing

uses gathering rather than precise even folds to make frills

R

to ruffle up

vsto ruffle

1 4.2

To make a smooth surface uneven or wrinkled

focuses on neat decorative gathering rather than rough disturbance

R

to ruche

vsto ruffle

• Specialized

9.9

To gather fabric into small folds to make a decorative edge on clothes

is the same action expressed with a different term

R

to ruff

vsto ruffle

9.3

To gather small folds in cloth to make a decorative edge

is the same gathering but not limited to edge frills

R

to ruckle

vsto ruffle

9.9

To make small folds in cloth by pressing or gathering it

is specifically about decorative pleating rather than general wrinkling

Antonyms

S

smooth

1 5.8

An act of making a surface even by rubbing or pressing

Idioms

R

to ruffle some feathers

• Informal

9 7.2

Upset people by challenging usual views

Phrasal Verbs

R

to ruffle up

1 4.2

To make a smooth surface uneven or wrinkled

How Frilly

to ruffle

5 4.5

to pleat

13 4.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology