frowsy

adjective

ˈfrau̇-zē How to pronounce frowsy (audio)
variants or frowzy
Definition of frowsynext
1
as in sloppy
lacking neatness in dress or person sported a threadbare wardrobe and frowsy hair

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ripe
having an unpleasant smell the abandoned house was dank and frowsy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of frowsy Lenker, in plaid, rubs her eyes; James Krivchenia leans forward, sparky and alert; Meek, outdoors in the Topanga sunshine, wears cycling glasses and a frowzy hat. — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 4 Sep. 2025 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frowsy
  1. sloppy
  2. ripe
  3. wrinkled
  4. stinking
  5. shaggy
  6. filthy
  7. slovenly
  8. fusty
Adjective
  • Detroit got a pair of first-half field goals from Jake Bates on a sloppy night for the offense.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Appeal rates also fell slightly, suggesting faster resolution wasn’t leading to sloppier decisions.
    — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of sloppy
Adjective
  • Talwani said the case was now ripe for a decision because the USPS had proposed a rule, and the election was closer.
    — Nate Raymond, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026
  • With such a glut of quirky comedy coming out of New Zealand, let’s hope this continues for as long as true crime remains ripe for parody.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of ripe
Adjective
  • Participants with wet but non-wrinkled fingers required significantly more force to maintain the same hold; their hands were working harder to do less.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
  • Yellowing leaves can indicate overwatering, while wrinkled leaves can point to underwatering.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of wrinkled
Adjective
  • America’s political landscape has become a stinking mess.
    — Mary Ellen Klas, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026
  • Not the good, high-altitude ozone that shields us from dangerous UV light, but bad ozone, hovering right above ground level — stinking, brownish, grayish photochemical smog.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Definition of stinking
Adjective
  • The pile is less shaggy and the patterns lean geometric over minimalist.
    — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 5 Aug. 2026
  • At its best, that instinct lends his comedies a shaggy warmth and a conspiratorial mood that suggests the filmmaker, character, and even viewers are all surviving the humiliation of modern intimacy together.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of shaggy
Adjective
  • Few things at airports irritate customers like filthy toilets or water on the restroom floor.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2026
  • His greatest series let people see a character who has revealed the filthiest, most shameful parts of themselves, and imagine them as a mirror.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of filthy
Adjective
  • And this is where the movie takes off from retro mythology to become its own slovenly mod thing.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Mar. 2026
  • 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
Definition of slovenly
Adjective
  • No one’s fusty, but there’s the traditional one and there’s the modern one.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The story of how this whimsical, gender-fluid brand got into the fusty, dusty, and chronically behind-the-times bridal industry isn't a particularly dramatic one.
    — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 26 June 2026
Definition of fusty

Browse Nearby Words

frowsty
frowsy
froze
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Frowsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frowsy. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All