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.
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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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Someone else scolds the offender.
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Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
Verb
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Today’s successful downtowns rely on a mix of ingredients, said Steven Falk, the former city manager of Lafayette, who’s served as an interim city executive in Oakland and Richmond and who lectures at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
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Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.
Verb
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The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
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His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.
Verb
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The nonprofit blames the lack of progress on government red tape and diminishing federal funding to provide subsidies and incentives.
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Industry, like tobacco companies, turns a blind eye to the problem, continues its mass production to achieve maximum profit and blames the consumer for bad choices.
Verb
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The couple has been targeted by a group called Boycott Divest Zabludowicz, which criticizes them for supporting a pro-Israel lobby.
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That letter, referenced in the Brandeis Center complaint, criticizes the APA for failing to discipline a former division president, Lara Sheehi, for various incendiary comments about Zionism.
Cite this Entry
“Dresses down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dresses%20down. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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