| Library / English Dictionary |
DRESS DOWN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Dress informally and casually
Example:
On Fridays, employees can underdress
Synonyms:
dress down; underdress
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Hypernyms (to "dress down" is one way to...):
dress; get dressed (put on clothes)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Antonym:
dress up (put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Censure severely or angrily
Example:
The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup
Synonyms:
bawl out; berate; call down; call on the carpet; chew out; chew up; chide; dress down; have words; jaw; lambast; lambaste; lecture; rag; rebuke; remonstrate; reprimand; scold; take to task; trounce
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "dress down" is one way to...):
criticise; criticize; knock; pick apart (find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dress down"):
castigate; chasten; chastise; correct; objurgate (censure severely)
brush down; tell off (reprimand)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
Sam cannot dress down Sue
