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frippery

frippery

1 9.9
Small decorative things that are fancy and not useful
  • noun
  • /ˈfrɪpəri/
  • Archaic
translation icon : ornamentación
  • He dismissed the jewelry as nothing more than frippery, preferring more practical items instead.
  • such frippery

Examples

  • After breakfast, they would go shopping for clothes and those fripperies that women loved so.

    Blog text (8)
  • What he ain't spending on that, his daughters are spending on frippery.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I mind it every week when you ask for some new frippery.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • "All this frippery will cost a fortune.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Though the blue became her, someone had pinned a bit of lace frippery to her neck.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Back in the house, she took her clothes off and piled the fripperies on the ground.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • When my girl starts talking of new gowns, more frippery, discourage her.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Well, I got some elegant frippery, finery and haberdashery.

  • She may be rather fond of over-decorating a church with fripperies... flowers, scraps of lace, and so forth... but that's merely a girlish fancy.

  • I came to accept everything else about her—her shallowness, her voracious hunger for every frippery, her selfish ways—but I could not forgive the way she badgered him for money.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

frill
vsfrippery
4 5.4

A small decorative detail added mainly for appearance rather than function

is the general idea of showy unnecessary ornamentation
flamboyance
vsfrippery
4 7.7

A very bright and fancy style that attracts attention in dress or manner

is more about decorative excess rather than bold personal style
tinsel
vsfrippery
3 6.8

Showy decoration that looks attractive but has little real value

is the general category that includes such surface decorations
tawdriness
vsfrippery
1 8.7

A cheap, flashy look that seems low quality

is similar but without the emphasis on cheapness or vulgarity
showiness
vsfrippery
1 6.5

A style that is very bright or richly decorated to attract attention

is the specific idea of ornamentation rather than attention seeking
foofaraw
vsfrippery
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A loud, unnecessary fuss about something unimportant

is about small decorative items rather than a public fuss
tackiness
vsfrippery
  • Informal
1 6.6

A quality of looking cheap and in bad taste

focuses on showy ornamentation without implying vulgar cheapness
falderol
vsfrippery
  • Archaic
9.9

Small decorative things that have little value

is the broader term for such trivial decorations
falderal
vsfrippery
  • Archaic
9.9

A showy decoration that is not needed and looks too fancy

covers that idea as a general class of ornamentation
trumpery
vsfrippery
  • Archaic
9.9

Cheap objects that look nice but have little value

is the wider notion of showy but insignificant ornamentation
mere trumpery
vsfrippery
  • Archaic
9.9

Worthless showy things meant to impress people

is similar but does not require a pretentious look
meretriciousness
vsfrippery
  • Formal
9.9

Something that looks bright and attractive but has no real value

stresses showiness and trivial value rather than true worth
ostentatiousness
vsfrippery
9.1

A way of behaving that shows off wealth or style to impress others

focuses more on decorative excess than on impressing others
frilliness
vsfrippery
7.2

A lot of extra decoration that looks showy

names the decorative result rather than the quality itself

Antonyms

53 2.7

A calm and honest way of speaking or acting that shows you mean what you say

How Ornate

ostentation
3 8.5
gaudiness
1 7.2
frippery
  • Archaic
1 9.9
plainness
1 3.5

Surface Forms

frippery singular
fripperies plural

Etymology

The word frippery comes from the French friperie, which meant a 'rag shop' where people sold old clothes and small trinkets. Because these shops sold fancy but low-value items, frippery came to mean showy, unnecessary decoration.