frump

[ fruhmp ]
See synonyms for: frumpfrumpish on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person who is dowdy, drab, and unattractive.

  2. a dull, old-fashioned person.

Origin of frump

1
First recorded in 1545–55; origin uncertain

Other words from frump

  • frumpish, adjective

Words Nearby frump

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use frump in a sentence

  • The best scholar in her class, she was never called a grind and she was far from being a frump.

    A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
  • We might as well be in a desert island,” continued Vera, “shut up from everything with an old frump.

    Modern Broods | Charlotte Mary Yonge
  • Miss Waller had a horror of being classed as a frump; instead, she prided herself on being exceedingly modern and up-to-date.

  • One thing was the same every time; they were never to cross or frump her, any way, but to humour and please her in everything.

  • The people inside the shop stood up, with their mouths full of cake, and out came an old frump with a terrible hat and a fringe.

    Half Portions | Edna Ferber

British Dictionary definitions for frump

frump

/ (frʌmp) /


noun
  1. a woman who is dowdy, drab, or unattractive

Origin of frump

1
C16 (in the sense: to be sullen; C19: dowdy woman): from Middle Dutch verrompelen to wrinkle, rumple

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012