dowdy.

Dull, unfashionable, and unattractive in appearance, especially in dress.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• dowdy clothes
• a dowdy coat
• look dowdy

On the page

The dowdy coat disguised the elegance of the dress she wore beneath it.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: dowdy; dowdier; dowdiest. Writing functions: appearance, character, description. Commonness: moderately common. Natural y-to-i comparison forms checked.