frumpier; frumpiest
a
: dressed in an unattractive way
He's a frumpy dresser.
That can't be Madonna playing a frumpy '30s-era missionary.—
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
b
of clothing
: not attractive : having an old, dull, unflattering, or untidy appearance
wore the same old frumpy sweater
… a dizzy mix of matronly frills, frumpy floral prints, and dotty dots …—Flare
FlareFrumpy shoes—those which forsake all suggestiveness in favor of comfort and mobility—are back.—Misty White Sidell
Misty White SidellBaggy pants, however, can add width and look frumpy.—Christina Frank
Christina Frank
frumpily
adverb
frumpily dressed
frumpiness
noun
Their hats are stained with sweat … and their clothes have an agreeable air of frumpiness.
—Cathy Horyn
Cathy Horyn
Examples of frumpy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For 2026, the current-generation Prius returns with the same basic formula — excellent efficiency — wrapped in a design that’s finally not so frumpy.
—Brian Moody, AJC.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Linda is not the right kind of people person for the job, Bradley tells her — and yes, Send Help’s insistence that McAdams’s character is frumpy and repellant requires more suspension of disbelief than anything else in the movie.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
However, this dad’s day out kit makes Popyrin, 26, look frumpy.
—Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
My approach to cold-weather dressing is decidedly frumpy.
—Kaelin Dodge, InStyle, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frumpy
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Brian Moody, AJC.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Linda is not the right kind of people person for the job, Bradley tells her — and yes, Send Help’s insistence that McAdams’s character is frumpy and repellant requires more suspension of disbelief than anything else in the movie.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
However, this dad’s day out kit makes Popyrin, 26, look frumpy.
—Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
My approach to cold-weather dressing is decidedly frumpy.
—Kaelin Dodge, InStyle, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frumpy
Cite this Entry
“Frumpy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frumpy. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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