1
as in sloppy
lacking neatness in dress or person
a dowdy old matron
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inappropriate
marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste
the dowdy, beat-up furniture at the cheap motel
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dowdy
The dowdy and shy Ursula is diabetic and has lost her eyesight in one eye.
—
Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 15 May 2025
These designs deliver on arch support without feeling dowdy.
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 28 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, the cutout neckline and darted bodice prevent it from being dowdy.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2025
Jane and Kit stand on either side, looking dowdy in black dresses and veils (not really an Irish thing).
—Cullen Murphy, airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dowdy
Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 15 May 2025
These designs deliver on arch support without feeling dowdy.
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 28 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, the cutout neckline and darted bodice prevent it from being dowdy.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2025
Jane and Kit stand on either side, looking dowdy in black dresses and veils (not really an Irish thing).
—Cullen Murphy, airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dowdy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dowdy
Adjective
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Chelsea occasionally bypassed the press with Gusto, a right-back playing in midfield, and captain Reece James interchanging positions, but were not helped by sloppy moments.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
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Or that fixing problems like their sloppy first-quarter defense and stagnant run game — at least for one week — gives reason to believe their floor and ceiling will rise higher as the season progresses.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And if the gifts this year are inappropriate, the fault will rest solely with him.—
Mark Mondier,
Arkansas Online,
19 Oct. 2025
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After Ansari set Being Mortal as his directorial debut in February 2022, also set to star alongside Murray, Deadline reported exclusively that April that Searchlight Pictures had suspended production following allegations of inappropriate behavior against Murray.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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After Frost’s retirement in 2001, with conglomerates having become deeply unfashionable, other parts of the company were sold and Hays became a focused staffing and recruitment business.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
8 Oct. 2025
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Whatever Gentiles might have thought in private, the Nazis had made overt antisemitism unfashionable, even odious.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Her brunette hair was styled with a shaggy aesthetic with fringe to frame her face.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
17 Oct. 2025
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But as on Letterboxd, Runquist’s YouTube videos are conversational and shaggy.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Financial promotion rules prevent inappropriate marketing to unsuitable investors.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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According to a study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment in 2024, up to 70% of current wine-producing regions could become unsuitable for growing grapes if global temperatures rise by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.—
Miguel A. Torres,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Fanning, for whom this film is certainly a showcase, plays Polly, who’s revealed to be a physical and emotional mess in the opening scenes, in which she’s shown anxiously puttering around her large, unkempt house, chain-smoking and trying on dresses for an upcoming important interview.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
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As the friend mentioned the dirty, unkempt sidewalks, trash in the street and the overgrown trees, Bidegain decided something needed to be done.—
Regina Elling,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Hoka Women’s Kaha 2 GTX Waterproof Hiking Boots Hiking boots don’t need to be frumpy and unstylish—just look at this adorable pair that’s now up to 59 percent off just in time for the Fourth of July.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
5 July 2025
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Only this time, Trump’s ambush was far more clearly choreographed, and thus somewhat less unstylish.—
Jonny Steinberg,
Time,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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To Washington, a beard made a man look unkempt and slovenly, masking the higher emotions that civility required.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
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The other near certainty in Lead Actor should be Gary Oldman, who anchors Slow Horses with a slovenly charisma that is, against all odds, deeply watchable.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dowdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dowdy. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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