Undress Meaning
/ʌnˈdɹɛs/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo remove one's clothing.
verbTo remove the clothing of (someone).
Sentence Examples
Please undress from the waist up.
I like to watch her undress.
Yanni and Skura were both asked to undress.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mother told her sleepy child to ____ before getting into the bathtub.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The doctor asked the patient to ____ and put on a hospital gown so that he could perform the exam today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English undressen, equivalent to un- + dress. Compare Old English unsċrȳdan (“to undress”, literally “un-shroud”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The mother told her sleepy child to ____ before getting into the bathtub.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The doctor asked the patient to ____ and put on a hospital gown so that he could perform the exam today.