frilly

UK: /ˈfrɪli/ US: (fril′ē)

Inflections of 'frilly' (adj):

frillier

adj comparative

frilliest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

frill•y  (fril′ē), adj., frill•i•er, frill•i•est. 

1. covered with or marked by frills:
   Some of the more elaborate dress shirts have frilly fronts.
2. frivolous;
   inconsequential:
   After a day of intense concentration and serious business, they feel like doing something frilly and amusing.

• frill + -y¹ 1835–45

frill′i•ness, n. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

frill /frɪl/   n. [countable]

1. Clothing a trimming, such as a strip of cloth or lace, gathered at one edge;
   ruffle.
2. something desirable but not essential:
   a car with frills like a CD player.

frill•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

frill  (fril), n. 

1. Clothing a trimming, as a strip of cloth or lace, gathered at one edge and left loose at the other;
   ruffle.
2. something resembling such a trimming, as the fringe of hair on the chest of some dogs.
3. affectation of manner, style, etc.
4. something superfluous.
5. Photography wrinkling or loosening of an emulsion at the edges, usually due to excessively high temperature during developing.

v.t. 

6. to trim or ornament with a frill or frills.
7. to form into a frill.

v.i. 

8. Photography (of an emulsion) to become wrinkled or loose.

• origin, originally uncertain 1585–95

frill′er, n.