Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Requiring or characterized by formal dress.
  • adjective Formal or elegant in style.
  • adjective Given to wearing formal or expensive clothes.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Fond of dress; given to elaborate or showy dressing.
  • Having an air of fashion or dress; modish; stylish: said of garments or materials.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Showy in dress; attentive to dress.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective elegant, smart or stylish

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective in fancy clothing

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • My feet are still unhappy with me since I wore the wrong dance shoes - the only "dressy" - ish ones I have are basically two-tone jazz shoes - no support whatsoever.

    Saturday Morning... sidewinder 2002

  • My store-bought long dresses are too "dressy" and made of rayon and other finer fabrics that are not suitable for housework.

    Sewing Simple Clothing 2009

  • These are "dressy" dresses, though, made of polyester.

    "The Pink Rose" by Federico Andreotti (1847-1930) 2009

  • Some people or maybe just me wear them because they're more comfortable and more practical than skirts, dresses, and "dressy" shoes.

    Wife Dressing - A Dress A Day 2008

  • Here in California, it's considered "dressy" if men wear long pants between March and November.

    Beauty is Relative... And Regional PeaceBang 2006

  • They did have to tell people not to wear "dressy" shorts though.

    Stop wearing pajamas to work. Ann Althouse 2006

  • While I am against the wearing of pajamas, bathing suits, or poly-leisure suits to services unless there is a very good reason for it, I recognize that some people either have a lifestyle for which certain clothing is "dressy" or their income limits them to, say, three changes of clothing.

    Boxers, Briefs, Or a Thong? PeaceBang 2006

  • Today I wore a long, straight purple kind of dressy, Indianish print skirt I've had for about six years, with a black tank and black v-necked cardigan over it.

    Transitional Seasons = PeaceBang's Personal Hell PeaceBang 2006

  • Today I wore a long, straight purple kind of dressy, Indianish print skirt I've had for about six years, with a black tank and black v-necked cardigan over it.

    Archive 2006-09-17 PeaceBang 2006

  • Perhaps the quaintest dresses are those of the people of Sætersdal, a district in the South of Norway, between Christiansand and Telemarken; and, when properly turned out, the men are quite as "dressy" as the women.

    Peeps at Many Lands: Norway Nico [Illustrator] Jungman 1893

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