negligee

noun

neg·​li·​gee ˌne-glə-ˈzhā How to pronounce negligee (audio)
ˈne-glə-ˌzhā
variants or less commonly negligé
1
: a woman's long flowing usually sheer dressing gown
2
: carelessly informal or incomplete attire

Examples of negligee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Nigerian actress Temi Otedola oozed the mystery of a film noir femme fatale in a floor-length black coat, tightly cinched with the lacy hint of a negligee peeking out beneath. Ian Malone, Vogue, 4 Mar. 2024 Elisa Benzoni’s elegant period costumes include modest bustiers, negligees and silk robes. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Jan. 2024 Wafting about in a flowy, sky-blue negligee, Rachel Bay Jones’ lady of leisure is daft but sweet and accidentally profound. Naveen Kumar, Variety, 22 Oct. 2023 The negligee style hangs from your collarbone down to your mid-chest and adds just a hint of a sparkle with two cubic zirconia stones on either end of the vertical section. Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 2 May 2023 In a silk negligee with her trusted cigarette holder tipped between two fingers, Manville’s Margaret is a seamless transition from Helena Bonham Carter’s and Vanessa Kirby’s before her. Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 10 Nov. 2022 The singer wore a see-through negligee over a lacy bra and thong while sitting front row at the Dior fall/winter 2022/2023 fashion show in Paris in March 2022. Nicole Briese, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2023 Kitaen, who died on May 7, 2021 at the age of 59, danced on the hood of a Jaguar while wearing a white negligee—creating one of the most memorable moments of the hair metal era and helping to put the video into regular rotation on MTV. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2023 Sobchak famously answered the door for the police wearing a negligee, and the agents confiscated roughly $1.5 million in cash, in dollars and euros, from her safe. Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'negligee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French négligé "casualness, casual or informal dress," from past participle of négliger "to disregard, neglect, treat carelessly," going back to Middle French negliger, borrowed from Latin neglegere, neclegere, necligere "to disregard, do nothing about, fail to care for" — more at neglect entry 1

First Known Use

1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of negligee was in 1756

Dictionary Entries Near negligee

Cite this Entry

“Negligee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negligee. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

negligee

noun
neg·​li·​gee
variants also negligé
1
: a woman's long flowing dressing gown
2
: carelessly informal clothes
Etymology

derived from French négligé, past participle of négliger "to neglect"

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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