dowdy up

verb

To make something appear plain and unattractive.

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Meanings

verbdowdy up (third-person singular simple present dowdies up, present participle dowdying up, simple past and past participle dowdied up)

present singular third person dowdies up · participle present dowdying up · participle past dowdied up · past dowdied up

  1. idiomatictransitiveTo make something appear plain and unattractive.

    I don't want one ounce of sex appeal emanating from me. I find flip-flops that are too big, and roll up the hem. Hell, I'm even going to dowdy up my hair.

    2016, Violet Vaughn, Rush for Love
Cite this entry
APA

dowdy up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dowdy%20up

MLA

“dowdy up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dowdy%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dowdy up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dowdy%20up.

Source: dowdy up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.