Synonyms of dressing

dressing 1 of 2

noun

ˈdre-siŋ 

1

as in plaster

a medicated covering used to heal an injury

nurses put a dressing over his cuts so they wouldn't get infected

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plaster
• poultice
• cream
• cataplasm
• lotion
• salve
• ointment
• balm
• liniment
• unguent
• embrocation

2

as in sauce

a savory fluid food used as a topping or accompaniment to a main dish

tangy salad dressing that wasn't overloaded with corn syrup

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sauce
• gravy
• condiment
• seasoning
• relish
• topping
• garnish
• dip
• marinade
• fixing(s)

dressing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of dress

1

as in bandaging

to cover with a bandage

first wash and then dress the wound

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bandaging
• binding
• healing
• treating
• swathing
• attending
• curing
• ministering (to)
• nursing
• medicating
• doctoring
• rehabilitating
• remedying
• caring (for)
• mending

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unbandaging

2

as in decorating

to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming

let's dress up the room with some greenery for the holiday party

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decorating
• adorning
• draping
• trimming
• ornamenting
• embellishing
• garnishing
• painting
• decking
• beautifying
• enriching
• festooning
• embossing
• arraying
• doing
• bedecking
• gracing
• gussying up
• blazoning
• doing up
• caparisoning
• accessorizing
• bedizening
• emblazing
• prettying (up)
• fancifying
• dolling up
• trapping
• embroidering
• freshening
• glitzing (up)
• brightening
• smartening
• fancying up
• braiding
• flouncing
• ribboning
• garlanding
• hanging
• chasing
• frilling
• dressing up
• filleting
• swagging
• bossing
• tricking (out)
• figuring
• jeweling
• sprucing (up)
• fringing
• appliquéing
• wreathing
• gilding
• lacing
• redecorating
• feathering
• filigreeing
• redoing
• diamonding
• impearling
• furbelowing
• pearling
• gemming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• spoiling
• disfiguring
• marring
• scarring
• streamlining
• displaying
• simplifying
• stripping
• defacing
• revealing
• exposing
• dismantling
• uncovering
• baring
• denuding
• blemishing
• divesting
• uglifying

3

as in polishing

to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure

dress the granite block to be used as the headstone on all four sides

Synonyms & Similar Words

• polishing
• rubbing
• smoothing
• shining
• coating
• glossing
• scrubbing
• burnishing
• grinding
• furbishing
• scraping
• buffing
• finishing
• glazing
• bobbing
• sanding
• filing
• facing
• varnishing
• smoothening
• slicking
• brightening
• veneering
• japanning
• lacquering
• sleeking
• sandpapering
• scouring
• sandblasting
• boning
• lapping
• rasping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ruffling
• roughing (up)
• scuffing (up)
• roughening

4

as in clothing

to outfit with clothes and especially fine or special clothes

dressed the young girl in satin and lace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clothing
• attiring
• costuming
• draping
• gowning
• wrapping
• robing
• garbing
• suiting
• toileting
• garmenting
• furnishing
• appareling
• enrobing
• arraying
• caparisoning
• bedecking
• habiting
• vesturing
• rigging (out)
• decking (out)
• outfitting
• togging (up or out)
• getting up
• dressing up
• uniforming
• doing up
• frocking
• jacketing
• investing
• equipping
• tailoring
• cloaking
• swaddling
• huddling
• swathing
• mantling
• underdressing
• enswathing
• vesting
• habilitating
• happing
• accoutring
• dressing down
• bedighting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stripping
• undressing
• disrobing
• unclothing
• uncovering
• denuding
• untrussing
• disarraying
• unveiling
• divesting
• undraping

5

as in costuming

to put on one's best or formal clothes

we don't usually dress for dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clothing
• costuming
• suiting
• dressing up
• primping
• dolling up
• decking
• accessorizing
• attiring
• prinking
• preening
• robing
• garbing
• investing
• smartening (up)
• arraying
• rigging (out)
• bedecking
• garmenting
• appareling
• bedizening
• togging (out or up)
• caparisoning
• duding (up)

6

as in growing

to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care

dress the beans by applying fertilizer once a week

Synonyms & Similar Words

• growing
• cultivating
• producing
• harvesting
• planting
• promoting
• cropping
• raising
• tending
• rearing
• culturing
• breeding
• propagating
• sowing
• gathering
• reaping
• sprouting
• ripening
• rooting
• gleaning
• germinating
• quickening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• killing
• picking
• digging
• pulling (up)
• plucking
• cutting
• mowing
• uprooting
• extirpating
• haying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dressing

Noun

Tender lettuces are slicked with a scallion-buttermilk dressing. — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 14 Oct. 2026

Veronica Beard wants to give its shoppers the easiest route to styling, dressing and shopping. — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2026

Verb

Again, the historic Palladian house required virtually no set dressing from the art department. — Charley Ward, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026

Reynolds modeled Mai on ancient Roman senators and military leaders, dressing him in robes reminiscent of Tahitian tapa cloth but with a Roman flair. — Saar Shahar, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

Phrases Containing dressing

• window dressing