DOWDY Synonyms: 158 Similar and Opposite Words

dowdy

adjective

ˈdau̇-dē

Definition of dowdy

as in sloppy

lacking neatness in dress or person a dowdy old matron

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in inappropriate

marked by an obvious lack of style or good taste the dowdy, beat-up furniture at the cheap motel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of dowdy Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish playing Aunt Sassy, a dowdy sidekick character. — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2026 Memorably dowdy fashion notwithstanding, the juicy role — part Nurse Ratched, part Jack Torrance — launched Bates into the Hollywood ether following years of false starts. — Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026 Cher’s memorable transformation from a dowdy Italian widow residing in Brooklyn, NY, stole the movie. — Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 13 Feb. 2026 Chris Hemsworth, then, almost as good-looking as GNev himself, with his slightly dowdy brother Luke cast as good old Phil. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for dowdy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dowdy

Adjective

The YouTube stuff, by comparison, feels sloppy, in multiple senses of the word.

— Josef Adalian, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026
The company built a team largely made up of former journalists and social media experts who have an eye for recognizing generic, sloppy content.

— Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of sloppy

Adjective

Parental Controls for Shared Devices Parents can restrict access to adult and inappropriate content, which helps when kids use the same phones, tablets, or laptops.

— StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from Dancing with the Stars for one week after making an inappropriate comment toward one of the judges last week.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of inappropriate

Adjective

Participants with wet but non-wrinkled fingers required significantly more force to maintain the same hold; their hands were working harder to do less.

— Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Yellowing leaves can indicate overwatering, while wrinkled leaves can point to underwatering.

— Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 8 Feb. 2026

Definition of wrinkled

Adjective

Chemically straightened Afro hairstyles had gone from being the default to increasingly unfashionable.

— Ata-owaji Victor, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2026
The dressing room—with its old Persian rug and deeply unfashionable mahogany desk—is just wrong enough to be, well, cool.

— Plum Sykes, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of unfashionable

Adjective

At one unsuitable Gramercy apartment, Taylor encountered Cam Armand, a salesperson on the Kota team at Compass, and the Folwells enlisted his help.

— Joyce Cohen, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
In a setting designed to make exceptional yachts desirable, explaining why a particular vessel is unsuitable requires commercial discipline.

— Christoph Lymbersky, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of unsuitable

Adjective

The drunken Ken spends his time on such things as warbling a karaoke version of a 4 Non Blondes song while an unkempt Ryu is a purveyor of ramen so bad even a stray cat won’t eat it.

— Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Wendy Louis, 40, was arrested Tuesday after deputies conducted a welfare check on his home on Northeast 175th Street and found his children extremely thin and with unkempt, matted hair, the sheriff’s office said.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of unkempt

Adjective

The reality, of course, is that the Southern accent is not some incorrect version of a national standard but instead a historically separate and unique dialect – or, more accurately, set of dialects.

— Valerie M. Fridland, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
And Ballmer and the Clippers remain adamant the penalties—and the allegations of misconduct—are incorrect.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of incorrect

Browse Nearby Words

dowdily

dowdy

dower

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Style

“Dowdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dowdy. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of dowdy

adjective

Example Sentences

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