frippery

noun

frip·​pery ˈfri-p(ə-)rē 

plural fripperies

1

a

: finery

also : an elegant or showy garment

b

: something showy, frivolous, or nonessential

c

: ostentation

especially : something foolish or affectedly elegant

2

archaic

a

: cast-off clothes

b

: a place where old clothes are sold

Synonyms of frippery

• attire
• finery
• costume
• regalia
• bravery
• apparel
• gaiety

Examples of frippery in a Sentence

The design is simple and devoid of needless frippery.

dressed in their most elegant frippery for the big gala at the symphony

Recent Examples on the Web

This one from chef Yotam Ottolenghi is basic with no frippery to speak of. —Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 26 Mar. 2026

Source: Tolan Inside the fair, venders manned stalls selling sweets and giftable fripperies. —Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026

And if Ada Lovelace had stuck to the frippery of English society rather than seek to further her education in mathematics and other areas, Charles Babbage's analytical engine might not have advanced past being a calculator. —Brenda Looper, Arkansas Online, 4 Mar. 2026

None of the 95 rooms at this palatial property, which first opened in the 1860s, is the same, and the decor is an eccentric mishmash that combines every era since then, from Victorian fripperies to sinuously streamlined Art Nouveau. —Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 28 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French friperie, alteration of Old French freperie, from frepe old garment

First Known Use

1568, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Rhymes for frippery

• slippery

Kids Definition

frippery

noun

frip·​pery ˈfrip-(ə-)rē 

plural fripperies

1

: showy or elegant clothing

2

: something that is not necessary, not serious, or not important