1
as in sloppy
lacking neatness in dress or person
a dowdy old matron
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inappropriate
marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste
the dowdy, beat-up furniture at the cheap motel
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dowdy
Jane and Kit stand on either side, looking dowdy in black dresses and veils (not really an Irish thing).
—
Cullen Murphy, airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025
To stay warm without looking dowdy, add a fuzzy shrug or jacket on top and a pair of lace or plumetis tights below.
—Talia Abbas, Glamour, 15 Jan. 2025
Helen, on the other hand, has blossomed from dowdy to dazzling, and is now a best-selling author bent on revenge and wooing back Ernest.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
The roving camera seems to hunt Blanchett through her character’s London townhouse and hip industrial office space, both impeccably rendered in contrast with Stephen’s dowdy row house by production designer Neil Lamont and set decorator Pancho Chamorro.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dowdy
Cullen Murphy, airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025
To stay warm without looking dowdy, add a fuzzy shrug or jacket on top and a pair of lace or plumetis tights below.
—Talia Abbas, Glamour, 15 Jan. 2025
Helen, on the other hand, has blossomed from dowdy to dazzling, and is now a best-selling author bent on revenge and wooing back Ernest.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
The roving camera seems to hunt Blanchett through her character’s London townhouse and hip industrial office space, both impeccably rendered in contrast with Stephen’s dowdy row house by production designer Neil Lamont and set decorator Pancho Chamorro.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dowdy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dowdy
Adjective
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Driving Challenges tackle rock gardens, blind drop-offs, and water crossings where sloppy throttle work comes at a cost.—
Shelby Knick,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
Thus far, the Wind Down delivers with its clean lines, deep cushions, and just-right balance of softness and structure that is far from sloppy—even with her young child is known to practice high dives and a somersaults or two.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Last season, Horner also came under scrutiny during an investigation into inappropriate and controlling behavior towards a female employee.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
9 July 2025
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Outrageous videos of purple-haired teachers voicing deeply political and inappropriate content on social media often reach millions of people, creating the false impression that teachers are generally unhinged and want to use their perch to push a personal agenda.—
Carrie Lukas,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike many of their previous teams, who always fell short at major events often in the most dire circumstances, this South Africa side was unfashionable.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
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Wearing an unfashionable but marginally faster time-trial helmet, Van Uden held off Kooij with a long-range sprint to take a surprise win — and secure a hugely important point tally for Picnic PostNL.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Saja Boys are memorable creations of their own, an over-the-top collection of shaggy haircuts, dewy faces, and bright streetwear that instantly invokes the heartthrobs of BTS or Stray Kids.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
11 July 2025
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The researchers found that climate shifts that underwrote the spread of grasslands allowed big sloths to arise, the shaggy mammals then altering those habitats to maintain open spaces best suited to big bodies capable of moving long distances.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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There’s also the risk that the new genes are unsuitable for Florida waters, and any interbreeding would weaken local stock.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
3 July 2025
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Washing Windows Cleaning windows works best in good lighting to achieve a streak-free finish, making nighttime an unsuitable time for the task.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Most wine lovers know that the word Sauvignon comes from the French word sauvage and the word blanc simply means white, but most people don’t know the reason is because when untrained vines of the variety have a distinctly unkempt appearance.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
4 Nov. 2024
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But, as in these United States, the key question remains whether creeping totalitarianism — from the left and the right — will squeeze everyday people out of their inalienable right to just be their sometimes obnoxious, unkempt, idiosyncratic selves.—
Ed Wallace,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2024
Adjective
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Only this time, Trump’s ambush was far more clearly choreographed, and thus somewhat less unstylish.—
Jonny Steinberg,
Time,
22 May 2025
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The sequences in which the crew shoots the movie also provide some of the most memorable technical flourishes for a film that’s largely sturdy and relatively unstylish, and Saleh has a bit of fun staging his tense thriller on some cheap looking soundstages.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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The other near certainty in Lead Actor should be Gary Oldman, who anchors Slow Horses with a slovenly charisma that is, against all odds, deeply watchable.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
24 May 2025
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Related Stories The movie O’Neil has put together out of this footage, which premiered last night at Cannes, is by any real-world standard a slovenly and undisciplined piece of work.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dowdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dowdy. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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