frowsy

adjective

frow·​sy ˈfrau̇-zē 

variants or frowzy

frowsier or frowzier; frowziest

1

: musty, stale

a frowsy smell of stale beer and stale smoke

—W. S. Maugham

2

: having a slovenly or uncared-for appearance

a couple of frowsy stuffed chairs

—R. M. Williams

Did you know?

The exact origins of frowsy are perhaps lost in an old, frowsy book somewhere, but some etymologists have speculated that frowsy (also spelled frowzy) shares a common ancestor with the younger, chiefly British, word frowsty, a synonym of frowsy in both its senses. That ancestor could be the Old French word frouste, meaning "ruinous" or "decayed," or the now-obsolete English word frough or frow, meaning "brittle" or "fragile." An early print example of frowsy can be found in Thomas Otway's 1681 comedy The Souldier's Fortune, wherein the character Beau refers to another character as "a frouzy Fellmonger."

Synonyms

• sloppy
• wrinkled
• shaggy
• slovenly
• unkempt
• messy
• untidy
• dowdy

Examples of frowsy in a Sentence

sported a threadbare wardrobe and frowsy hair

the abandoned house was dank and frowsy

Recent Examples on the Web

Before the current renovation of the franchised hotels, the rooms looked as if they were stuck in a fussy, frowsy 1980s floral rut. —BostonGlobe.com, 3 Oct. 2019

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for frowsy

• drowsy
• lousy

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Kids Definition

frowsy

adjective

frow·​sy

variants or frowzy

ˈfrau̇-zē 

frowsier or frowzier; frowsiest

: having an untidy appearance