undress

present singular third person undresses · participle present undressing · participle past undressed · past undressed

1. archaicreflexiveTo remove one's clothing.First known use 16th c.

   She undressed herself before putting on her bedclothes.

2. intransitiveTo remove one’s clothing.First known use 17th c.

   The doctor asked me to undress for the examination.

   Synonyms: disrobe

3. transitiveTo remove the clothing of (someone).First known use 17th c.

   Mary began to undress her daughter in preparation for bathtime.

   2 more examples

   The young men slowly and sensually undressed each other before making passionate love.

   You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere / Imagination, life is your creation

   1997, Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif, Lene Nystrøm, “Barbie Girl” (track 3), in Aquarium, performed by Johnny Jam, Delgado, Søren Rasted, and Claus Norreen

4. figurativelytransitiveTo strip something off.First known use 17th c.
5. To take the dressing, or covering, from.

   to undress a wound

plural undresses

1. archaiccountablehistoricaluncountablePartial or informal dress for women, as worn in the home rather than in public.

   Here he had not waited above ten minutes, when Emilia entered in a most inchanting undress, with all the graces of nature playing about her person, and in a moment rivetted the chains of his slavery beyond the power of accident to unbind.

   1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC

2. archaiccountablehistoricaluncountableInformal clothing for men, as opposed to formal or ceremonial wear.

   His undress, and the agitation he was apparently in, which she imputed to the effect of her charms, combined to make him appear more interesting both to the mother and daughter […].

   1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 92

3. countableuncountableNow more specifically, a state of having few or no clothes on.

   She returned to her dorm to find her roommate, fresh out of the shower, in a state of undress.

   1 more example

   The visitor, observing that she held the door on the inside, and that, when the uncle tried to open it, there was a sharp adjuration of 'Don't, stupid!' and an appearance of loose stocking and flannel, concluded that the young lady was in an undress.

   1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC