as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
dressed down for boorish behavior at the dance
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Recent Examples of dresses down
Scarlett Johansson dresses down in a New York Giants sweatshirt on set for The Exorcist in New York City on March 30.
—
Katie Hill, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
Around the same time, Oscar de la Renta sent floor-skimming shirt dresses down the runway, while Stephen Burrows gave sequins a sporty edge in wrap-styles blouses and dresses – perfect for transitioning from work to cocktail parties in the era.
—Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 19 Dec. 2025
Katie Hill, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
Around the same time, Oscar de la Renta sent floor-skimming shirt dresses down the runway, while Stephen Burrows gave sequins a sporty edge in wrap-styles blouses and dresses – perfect for transitioning from work to cocktail parties in the era.
—Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dresses down
Verb
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Stumbling on to this ruse, Antoine’s friend and manager Armand (Gilles Lellouche) immediately can tell Suzanne is a fake and scolds her for exploiting his friend’s grief.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
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Or tie scolds to the ducking stool again.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
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When not writing, May frequently lectures on the politics and policies of mass incarceration for university classes, academic conferences, and online events.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Davenport blames it on the business’s contraction.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
28 May 2026
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Faye, disappointed to see that the safe has no money, blames Rue for the deception and screams to wake her boyfriend.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Read's suit criticizes police for not searching the home where O'Keefe was found for blood, fingerprints or DNA evidence.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
4 June 2026
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The suit also criticizes ChatGPT’s propensity to agree with users, arguing that the service’s sycophancy can lead users to develop dangerous psychological attachment to the platform and cause users to pay money to unlock more generous usage quotas.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dresses down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dresses%20down. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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