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
  • Charlotte won the rebound battle 51 to 44, but left the Pistons open way too often and were sloppy with the ball, committing 25 turnovers.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The Lakers were sloppy with the basketball, turning it over 22 times.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of sloppy
Adjective
  • Bountiful seafood pastas are the specialty, but do save some space here or elsewhere for a dessert of po’e, a sweet, dense sponge cake made from mashed ripe bananas.
    — Mark Johanson, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The infants would be able to feed to their stomachs’ content on the increasingly ripe meat without getting close to finishing the entire spread laid before them.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 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
  • For this argument Thomasine was jailed—stuffed into a damp, stinking, deadly stone cell crawling with rats and lice—to force her to change her beliefs.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • America’s political landscape has become a stinking mess.
    — Mary Ellen Klas, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026
Definition of stinking
Adjective
  • The actor and producer has swapped the shaggy, caramel-toned lengths of recent months for a razor-sharp, jaw-grazing cut in a cool-toned shade of blonde.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Atop the mesh base, most of the overlays are also rendered in shaggy shade for a further emphasis on texture.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of shaggy
Adjective
  • Los Angeles also struggles with an ongoing homelessness crisis — filthy encampments and rows of rusting RVs are a common sight in many neighborhoods.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • All my women friends, just thinking filthy thoughts about you.
    — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 30 Oct. 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
  • Mark Birley was a visionary who realized that the younger generation was becoming prosperous but didn’t want to sit in fusty rooms smoking cigars.
    — Mark Cecil, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2026
  • After its electrifying premiere, there were quickly reports that A24 is focused on a Best Picture campaign for the film in large part because the Academy’s fusty Documentary Branch may opt not to nominate it for Best Documentary Feature.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 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 7 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of abandon

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'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

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All