noun
frippery
Frippery (noun) means Showy display, such as in elaborate dress.
noun
1
Showy display, such as in elaborate dress.
"And so frippery and force combine to make a political position – support for the monarchy – seem like the natural, sacred default."
— Nesrine Malik, The coronation pulled a screen across a desperate, failing nation – just as intended (2023)
"The frippery-filled world of fashion confounded its critics yesterday when it became sombre and serious in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US."
— Audrey Gillan, London Fashion Week opens (2001)
"Well, we were probably never going to mistake Gordon Brown for a rococo dandy. Out go Thomas Gainsborough and George Romney with all their 18th century frills and fripperies, like aristocrats deported on the tumbril."
— Jonathan Jones, Grey and grimy alternative to frippery that bespeaks loyalty to welfare state Britain (1999)
2
Small, unimportant items with little real value.
3
Clothes that someone no longer wants and has given away.
4
The business of buying and selling used clothing.
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Etymology
Came into English from French friperie, from Old French fripier ("to rub up and down, to wear into rags"). Compare fripper.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for frippery
See all rhymes for frippery →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of frippery?
"frippery" (noun) means showy display, such as in elaborate dress.
What is another word for frippery?
Other words for "frippery" include bagatelle, fluff, frivolity.
What are the different meanings of frippery?
"frippery" has 3 main meanings: 1. Showy display, such as in elaborate dress; 2. Small, unimportant items with little real value; 3. Clothes that someone no longer wants and has given away.
