Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Fussy or showy dress or ornamentation.
- n. A rustling sound, as of silk.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A rustling, particularly the rustling of silk, as in a woman's dress: as, the silken frou-frou of her movements.
Wiktionary
- n. alternative spelling of frou-frou.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A rustling, esp. the rustling of a woman's dress.
- n. showy or frilly ornamentation.
Etymologies
- French, of imitative origin.
Examples
“Their immaculate socks with the separate great toes make no noise; nothing is heard, as they glide by, but a 'froufrou' of silken stuffs.”
“Mr. Valli, who started his line in ready-to-wear six years ago after designing for Emanuel Ungaro , played a part, creating froufrou confections for society women.”
“Aesthetically, the resulting works lie halfway between Victorian froufrou and the obsessive-compulsive artwork produced by the mentally challenged.”
“I hope you love this pasta dish -- it's quick, delicious and earth-friendly, using every bit of the cauliflower, no froufrou florets, no waste.”
Ellen Kanner: Meatless Monday: A New Year's Resolution of Biblical Proportions
“Gladioli timesThe gladioli has a tendency towards the frilly and the froufrou, but lots are delicate and there is still time to plant them for late summer spires of colour.”
The Guardian: In the garden this week: Net fruit bushes, plus gladioli times
“No amount of strapless dresses or froufrou fashion would convince Ava to just shake hands and leave it all behind us, and I would never admit defeat to her.”
“According to John Richardson's book, Sacred Monsters, Sacred Masters, she disdained the fin-de-siecle froufrou (dust cathers, to be sure) and maintained a low-key style, whose principle was "Elegance is elimination.”
“It also has a sharp and witty script, which is surprising since it was written by the same guy responsible for the froufrou Last of Mrs. Cheyney.”
“Thus, the bride, out of sheer exhaustion, timidity, lack of self-confidence or maybe even a dearth of imagination, resorts to the fallback concept of "tradition" and goes for the full-on froufrou bells-and-whistles approach.”
“Teutonic rigor and restraint are touchstones of German furniture and auto design, but all too often the country's fashion tends inexplicably toward the froufrou.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘froufrou’.
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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xulilux's list
leviathan, destitute, iapetus, caesura, ineffable, eschew, phosphene, fungible, antediluvian, nomenclature, mottle, europa and 84 more...
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English with Tongue
French words and phrases used by English speakers.
objet d'art, nom de plume, petite, bon voyage, avant-garde, faux pas, faux, touché, répondez, s'il vo..., rouge, papier mâché, joie de vivre and 85 more...
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Fun-Sounding Words
oscillation, elation, axolotl, saleratus, tmesis, epeolatry, trothplight, just for fun, nyctalgia, hendiadys, anaptyxis, haplology and 5 more...
banui French, for the rustling of silk. Jan 14, 2007