Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A girl or woman regarded as dull, plain, or unfashionable.
- noun A person regarded as colorless and primly sedate.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A taunt; a jeer; a flout; a snub.
- noun A lie.
- noun A dowdy woman or girl, particularly when also cross or ill-tempered; a hag.
- noun A gossip.
- To be rude to; insult; snub; rebuke.
- To fabricate or patch up (a tale).
- To be rude.
- To go about gossiping.
- To complain without cause.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To insult; to flout; to mock; to snub.
- noun obsolete A contemptuous speech or piece of conduct; a gibe or flout.
- noun colloq. A cross, old-fashioned person; esp., an old woman; a gossip.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun colloquial A
frumpy person , somebody who isunattractive ,drab ordowdy . - noun The
clothes that such a person would wear.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a dull unattractive unpleasant girl or woman
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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I'll bet Bill Clinton took time out from his usual campaign "frump", picked up his cell phone, and gave Mr. Patterson a "little advice" about his choice of words to the media!!
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But the "frump" will let herself and all her surroundings go to seed, not from humbleness of mind or an overwhelming sense of her own unworthiness, but in pure complacent conceit.
Worldly Ways and Byways Eliot Gregory 1884
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Frizzle haired, doubled-chinned, bad teeth, wearing a dress that screamed 'frump'.
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Okay, like everyone else, I too was staggered that such a seemingly trained voice should come out the mouth of a woman who's been dubbed a 'frump'.
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Just because you remember Ann Taylor as the ultimate purveyor of frump, doesn't mean she still is.
Style Section L.A.: Ready, Set, Shop: L.A.'s 5 Newest Fashion and Beauty Spots Style Section L.A. 2011
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Just because you remember Ann Taylor as the ultimate purveyor of frump, doesn't mean she still is.
Style Section L.A.: Ready, Set, Shop: L.A.'s 5 Newest Fashion and Beauty Spots Style Section L.A. 2011
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Not wanting to continue along that path, I put myself on simple, uncomplicated programs (including what's listed above), which helped me lose the weight, get strong and lean, improve my skin and "fight the frump."
Barbara Hannah Grufferman: Life After 50: Plastic Surgery on Your Mind? Before You Do That, Do This Barbara Hannah Grufferman 2010
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Just because you remember Ann Taylor as the ultimate purveyor of frump, doesn't mean she still is.
Style Section L.A.: Ready, Set, Shop: L.A.'s 5 Newest Fashion and Beauty Spots Style Section L.A. 2011
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Not wanting to continue along that path, I put myself on simple, uncomplicated programs (including what's listed above), which helped me lose the weight, get strong and lean, improve my skin and "fight the frump."
Barbara Hannah Grufferman: Life After 50: Plastic Surgery on Your Mind? Before You Do That, Do This Barbara Hannah Grufferman 2010
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Not wanting to continue along that path, I put myself on simple, uncomplicated programs (including what's listed above), which helped me lose the weight, get strong and lean, improve my skin and "fight the frump."
Barbara Hannah Grufferman: Life After 50: Plastic Surgery on Your Mind? Before You Do That, Do This Barbara Hannah Grufferman 2010
brtom commented on the word frump
"Transparent stockings, stretched to breaking point. Not like that frump today. A. E. Rumpled stockings."
Joyce, Ulysses, 13
January 14, 2007