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Definition of "dishabille" [dis•ha•bille]

  • The state of being partially or very casually dressed. (noun)
  • Casual or lounging attire. (noun)
  • An intentionally careless manner. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "dishabille" in a sentence
  • "The first time we meet Victoria, she is wretching her guts into the toilet with her mother standing above her in dishabille, smoking a cigarette into her face while threatening to throw her out of the house."
  • "The moment we alighted, "My friend has been ill," said she, "and is in dishabille, will you shew her an apartment, that she may alter her dress?""
  • "The word dishabille (from the French déshabillé 'undressed', which still refers to a negligee) uses a common euphemism for nudity to refer to being partially or very casually dressed, a matter of comparison with the fashion-sensitive 'proper' dress, not to an actual revealing characteris - tic of the 'lesser' garments worn."