foppish

adjective fop·pish \ ˈfä-pish \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Definition of foppish

1 obsolete : foolish, silly

2 a : characteristic of a fop

a foppish dressing gown

b : behaving or dressing in the manner of a fop

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foppishly

adverb

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foppishness

noun

Recent Examples of foppish from the Web

The foppish Johnson — an articulate campaigner — helped lead Brexit forces to victory in the June 2016 referendum that effectively ended Cameron’s career and set in motion more than two years of tortuous negotiations with the EU.

— Washington Post, "Out as UK foreign secretary: One more twist in Boris saga," 9 July 2018
There are also noteworthy performances from Marcus Truschinski as the hilariously foppish, show-stealing Touchstone, Tracy Michelle Arnold as the saturnine Jaques and Andrea San Miguel as a vibrant and wide-eyed Celia.

— mike fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "American Players Theatre's comedy 'As You Like It' makes every word count," 19 June 2018
The plentiful mime is both broad and exact, capable of showing — without sound — how Harlequin’s foppish rival sings poorly.

— brian seibert, New York Times, "Review: ‘Harlequinade’ Has Charming Baubles, but Why Do It?," 5 June 2018
Atkins perfectly catches Spenser’s breezy voice and Parker’s knack for creating vivid characters — notably a foppish, condescending British detective who is also hunting the paintings.

— adam woog, The Seattle Times, "Authors ably carry on legacies of late crime-fiction writers Tony Hillerman, Robert B. Parker," 17 Apr. 2018
As foppish Andrew Aguecheek, Jacob Dresch is particularly funny with his physicality.

— matthew j. palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Twelfth Night' finds the funny, in Elizabethan style," 8 Mar. 2018
Neither Bradley Whitford’s foppish, flappy bow tie nor Daniel Kaluuya’s unusual cigar-brown velvet tuxedo provoked any pointed barbs or even raised eyebrows from the fashion police on E! and ABC.

— jacob gallagher, WSJ, "Men Had It Easy on the Oscars Red Carpet. What If They Didn’t?," 5 Mar. 2018
Making this pronouncement is officious Lord Nooth, the governor of the area's spiffy bronze age town, who's played by Hiddleston like a foppish, money-hungry Roman provincial functionary with a truly eccentric accent.

— kenneth turan, latimes.com, "The gently amusing "Early Man" showcases Nick Park's offbeat humor," 15 Feb. 2018
The generous, foppish satin bows draped floppily across the toes will cheer up even the most lugubrious shoe fetishist.

— lauren ingram, WSJ, "Party Shoes with Bows: Would You Go High or Low?," 7 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foppish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.