frou-frou

or frou·frou

[ froo-froo ]
See synonyms for frou-frou on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. elaborate decoration, as frills, ribbons, or ruffles, especially on women's clothing.

  2. elaborate detail.

  1. a rustling, particularly the rustling of silk, as in a woman's dress.

adjective
  1. elaborately decorated; fussy: frou-frou bedroom decor.

  2. having elaborate detail: We laughed at all the frou-frou descriptions on the menu.

Origin of frou-frou

1
First recorded in 1865–70; from French; imitative

Words Nearby frou-frou

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

How to use frou-frou in a sentence

  • With the quick military tread came the frou-frou of silk and the footfall of slippered feet.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • Finally, in the eighteenth century, comes rococo, with its rustling frou-frou and its delicate charm.

  • There was a frou-frou of skirts upon the velvet carpet, and the next moment Iris Vincent's arms were about her.

    Pretty Madcap Dorothy | Laura Jean Libbey
  • There was a pause, broken only by the light frou-frou of the fan, as it still waved slowly backwards and forwards.

    Dead Man's Rock | Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • He still paced the floor until he heard a light frou-frou in the hall, a light knock at the door.

British Dictionary definitions for froufrou

froufrou

/ (ˈfruːˌfruː) /


noun
  1. a swishing sound, as made by a long silk dress

  2. elaborate dress or ornamentation, esp worn by women

Origin of froufrou

1
C19: from French, of imitative origin

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