plural dandies
1
: a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance
2
: something excellent in its class
a dandy of a game
dandyishly
adverb
dandier; dandiest
1
: of, relating to, or suggestive of a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance : foppish
2
: very good : first-rate
a dandy place to stay
I have a couple of friends … who think a recession is a dandy time to try to discover better and cheaper ways to do things.—
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman
Synonyms
Noun
Adjective
- A-OK
- A1
- awesome
- bang-up
- banner
- beautiful
- blue-chip
- blue-ribbon
- boffo
- bonny [chiefly British]
- bonnie
- boss [slang]
- brag
- brave
- bully
- bumper
- capital
- choice
- classic
- cool [slang]
- corking
- crackerjack
- cracking
- divine
- dope [slang]
- down [slang]
- dynamite
- excellent
- fab
- fabulous
- famous
- fantabulous [slang]
- fantastic
- fine
- first-class
- first-rate
- first-string
- five-star
- four-star
- frontline
- gangbusters
- gangbuster
- gilt-edged
- gilt-edge
- gone [slang]
- grand
- great
- groovy
- heavenly
- high-class
- hot
- hype [slang]
- immense
- jim-dandy
- keen
- lovely
- marvelous
- marvellous
- mean
- neat
- nifty
- noble
- number one
- No. 1
- numero uno
- out-of-sight [slang]
- par excellence
- peachy
- peachy keen
- phat [slang]
- prime
- primo [slang]
- prize
- prizewinning
- quality
- radical [slang]
- righteous [slang]
- sensational
- slick
- splendid
- stellar
- sterling
- superb
- superior
- superlative
- supernal
- swell
- terrific
- tip-top
- top
- top-notch
- top-of-the-line
- top-shelf
- topflight
- topping [chiefly British]
- unsurpassed
- wizard [chiefly British]
- wonderful
Examples of dandy in a Sentence
Noun
That was a dandy of a game.
that dandy was willing to spend all day and hundreds of dollars just to get the perfect pair of shoes
Adjective
We thought something was wrong, but he said everything was just fine and dandy.
that's a dandy new racing bike
Recent Examples on the WebChris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2023
This polka-dot silk number is perfect for channeling your inner dandy.
—Naomi Rougeau, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2023
Her 9-year-old son Travis (Chase Dillon) is something of a dandy, sporting impeccable two or three-piece outfits, with bowties or even boloties.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2023
This foppish dandy is the Penguin in the pantheon of Washington, D.C., DC Comics villains.
—Nina Burleigh, The New Republic, 16 May 2023
Flowers remain a dominant theme with Derby dandies.
—Michael Solomon, Forbes, 6 May 2023
The Giants have made countless trades that were dandies, but the bad ones present what-if scenarios that can be tough for fans to stomach.
—John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2023
Even if his clothes are expensive to make and to purchase, utilitarianism is a core principle not only for the brand but for the clientele: Mediterranean dandies and thoughtful tech bros, uninterested in flashing their fortunes at a time of market anxiety.
—Jon Caramanica, Town & Country, 28 Feb. 2023
Barnum Brown was the guy who found the fossils: child of the Kansas prairie with a bloodhound’s sense for petrified bones, a flamboyant dandy who did fieldwork in a full-length fur coat and spied for oil companies and the forerunner of the CIA in his spare time.
—Steve Brusatte, The Atlantic, 7 June 2022
Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 9 Nov. 2023
On the other hand, the Mac spin runs just dandy under Ventura on my M1 MacBook Air.
—Cameron Kaiser, Ars Technica, 25 Oct. 2023
And at the beginning, her relationship with Billy is so rose-colored and dandy — and then obviously that becomes more strained as the show progresses.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 June 2023
Garmin even summarizes it in a handy dandy Training Readiness metric that looks at your sleep, sleep history, recovery time, HRV status, training load, and stress history.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 23 June 2023
Even tennis courts and the very rooftops on our homes are oftentimes reinforced or entirely composed of some quite handy dandy asphalt.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021
King Charles, an already dandy man, has reached his sartorial height during his coronation.
—Isiah Magsino, Town & Country, 7 May 2023
Seventy years after Murnau delivered his take on Stoker’s novel, the DIY impresario and wine merchant Francis Ford Coppola released his overstuffed, yet still fascinating, version, starring Gary Oldman as a restless dandy Dracula trying his best to seduce a wide-eyed Winona Ryder.
—Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 1 Mar. 2022
Highs in the lower 80s are dandy.
—David Streit, Washington Post, 9 June 2022
See More
Noun
The solipsism of artists and influencers offers infinite variations on self-lacerating lampoon, and Sebastian Silva’s new film Rotting in the Sun comes up with a dandy.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2023
This polka-dot silk number is perfect for channeling your inner dandy.
—Naomi Rougeau, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2023
Her 9-year-old son Travis (Chase Dillon) is something of a dandy, sporting impeccable two or three-piece outfits, with bowties or even boloties.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2023
This foppish dandy is the Penguin in the pantheon of Washington, D.C., DC Comics villains.
—Nina Burleigh, The New Republic, 16 May 2023
Flowers remain a dominant theme with Derby dandies.
—Michael Solomon, Forbes, 6 May 2023
The Giants have made countless trades that were dandies, but the bad ones present what-if scenarios that can be tough for fans to stomach.
—John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2023
Even if his clothes are expensive to make and to purchase, utilitarianism is a core principle not only for the brand but for the clientele: Mediterranean dandies and thoughtful tech bros, uninterested in flashing their fortunes at a time of market anxiety.
—Jon Caramanica, Town & Country, 28 Feb. 2023
Barnum Brown was the guy who found the fossils: child of the Kansas prairie with a bloodhound’s sense for petrified bones, a flamboyant dandy who did fieldwork in a full-length fur coat and spied for oil companies and the forerunner of the CIA in his spare time.
—Steve Brusatte, The Atlantic, 7 June 2022
Adjective
To recap, The Bear—the restaurant, that is—has opened to friends and family, but not everything’s swell and dandy for our rag-tag restaurant team.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 9 Nov. 2023
On the other hand, the Mac spin runs just dandy under Ventura on my M1 MacBook Air.
—Cameron Kaiser, Ars Technica, 25 Oct. 2023
And at the beginning, her relationship with Billy is so rose-colored and dandy — and then obviously that becomes more strained as the show progresses.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 June 2023
Garmin even summarizes it in a handy dandy Training Readiness metric that looks at your sleep, sleep history, recovery time, HRV status, training load, and stress history.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 23 June 2023
Even tennis courts and the very rooftops on our homes are oftentimes reinforced or entirely composed of some quite handy dandy asphalt.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021
King Charles, an already dandy man, has reached his sartorial height during his coronation.
—Isiah Magsino, Town & Country, 7 May 2023
Seventy years after Murnau delivered his take on Stoker’s novel, the DIY impresario and wine merchant Francis Ford Coppola released his overstuffed, yet still fascinating, version, starring Gary Oldman as a restless dandy Dracula trying his best to seduce a wide-eyed Winona Ryder.
—Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 1 Mar. 2022
Highs in the lower 80s are dandy.
—David Streit, Washington Post, 9 June 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dandy.' 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
Noun and Adjective
probably short for jack-a-dandy, from jack entry 1 + a (of) + dandy (origin unknown)
Phrases Containing dandy
Dictionary Entries Near dandy
Cite this Entry
“Dandy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dandy. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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