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Glite Dictionary
🧸 A toy figure 👩 A young woman 💄 To dress up
to doll

to doll

22 7.6
To dress someone or something in a fancy way
  • verb
  • /dɔl/
  • Informal
translation icon : arreglarse
  • So why are you all dolled up?

I'm just going to doll up a little paint down there.

Examples

  • The last time he saw her dolled up like this was their sophomore-year Valentine's Ball.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • You are really getting dolled up over there, Ma.

    The Guilt Trip (2012)

  • I'm just going to doll up a little paint down there.

    Adam Savage’s Tested

  • Of course, I also got dolled up for the event.

    Blog text (19)

  • All of them were dolled up, and no one was in ordinary clothes.

    Blog text (30)

  • "You look mighty dolled up today."

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Got herself all dolled up for him she did, with blusher, eyeliner, the lot.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • At Nick's house, Juliette and Nick are getting dolled up to go to some work/award dinner.

    Blog text (12)

  • She decided to doll herself up for the party by wearing a beautiful dress and fancy jewelry.

  • Before the wedding, I need to doll up my hair and add some makeup to look my best.

Synonyms

to dress
vsto doll
96 3.0

To make food, hair or a place look attractive by adding small items

is more specific about dressing oneself in a fancy or elaborate style
to dress something up
vsto doll
56 3.4

Make something look nicer or more attractive for a special event

applies that decorative idea mainly to personal, fancy dressing rather than objects
to gussy
vsto doll
  • Informal
8 8.7

Make something or someone look fancier by adding decorations

is focused on personal or self-decoration in an especially fancy way
to primp
vsto doll
  • Informal
8 7.2

To get ready by fixing your clothes, hair, or makeup carefully

emphasizes dressing in a fancy way rather than lengthy grooming rituals
to gussy up
vsto doll
  • Informal
5 8.6

To dress or decorate in a fancy way to look nicer

is similar but focuses on personal fancy or elaborate self-decoration
to costume
vsto doll
5 4.0

To dress someone in special clothes for a play or event

is broader, covering general fancy or elaborate personal dressing
to dress up
vsto doll
3 4.2

Put decorations on animals for special events

covers human personal dressing and elaborate self-decoration instead
to doll up
vsto doll
  • Informal
1 7.2

To dress up and make yourself look attractive for a special event

leans more toward dressing in an elaborate, decorative style
to gussie
vsto doll
  • Informal
9.9

To make a person or thing look fancy, often in a showy way

is mainly about dressing oneself in a fancy, elaborate manner
to prink
vsto doll
  • Archaic
9.9

To dress carefully to look fancy

is similar but can be less fussily ornate and more general
to fig out
vsto doll
  • Archaic
9.9

To dress in special clothes to look attractive

is similar but often stresses decorative or elaborate overall styling
to fig up
vsto doll
  • UK
9.9

To put on fancy clothes to look good

focuses more on full decorative dressing rather than only stylish touches
to fancy up
vsto doll
  • Informal
6.5

Make something look more stylish and attractive

is more about personal, often elaborate self-decoration rather than general styling
to bedizen
vsto doll
9.9

To make clothes or things look too bright and ugly

can be showy too but does not necessarily imply gaudiness or poor taste

Antonyms

undress
  • NSFW
5 3.3

The state of wearing no or only some clothes

to dishevel
2 8.1

To make someone's hair or clothes look untidy

Idioms

like a porcelain doll
  • Informal
1 8.2

Appearing delicate, fragile, and pale like a fine doll

Phrasal Verbs

to doll up
  • Informal
1 7.2

To dress up and make yourself look attractive for a special event

Compounds

rag doll
4 2.0

A cloth doll filled with stuffing and with a painted or stitched face

paper doll
  • Baby Talk
3 1.8

A small toy made from paper, cut or folded to look like a person

rag doll
  • Specialized
2 5.8

In video games, a character that falls limp and moves like a cloth doll

bobblehead doll
1 4.0

A small toy with a large head on a spring that nods when tapped

Russian doll
1 3.7

A set of wooden dolls in different sizes that fit one inside another

bobblehead doll
  • Offensive
7.8

A person who always agrees with others without thinking

glove doll
6.7

A small puppet you wear on your hand and move with your fingers

sawdust doll
  • Archaic
9.9

A small cloth toy filled with sawdust for children to play with

How Fancy

to glamourize
  • UK
1 6.3
to doll
  • Informal
22 7.6
to gussy up
  • Informal
5 8.6
to dress up
178 2.7
to spruce up
  • Informal
13 3.8
to dress
∞ 1.0
tidy
47 1.0

Surface Forms

doll infinitive
dolled past
dolled past participle
dolling present participle
dolls third person singular

Etymology

Doll, often heard as 'doll up', comes from making someone look like a doll. So to doll yourself or a room up means to dress or decorate it in a fancy, showy way.