frilled; frilling; frills
: to provide or decorate with a frill
1
a
: a gathered, pleated, or bias-cut fabric edging used on clothing
b
: a strip of paper curled at one end and rolled to be slipped over the bone end (as of a chop) in serving
2
: a ruff of hair or feathers or a bony or cartilaginous projection about the neck of an animal
3
a
: affectation, air
—usually used in plural
… intellectual frills and fustian.—Joseph Epstein
b
: something decorative or useful and desirable but not essential : luxury
a new car with all the frills
For small businesses, a private plane is more than just a fat-cat frill.—Kevin Peraino
-er/-est
: having or resembling a frill : nonessential, ornamental, frivolous, trifling
get out of my field clothes and sun helmet into something frilly—Eve Langley
like her earlier writing, it is … rather frilly here and there—E. A. Speiser
frilly cakes coated with icing—New Yorker
Cite this Entry
“Frill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frill. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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