What does blowzy mean?
'Blowzy' is an adjective describing someone — traditionally a woman — whose face is red and coarse and whose overall appearance is untidy, especially as a result of heavy drinking or an irregular life. By extension, it can describe anything slovenly or dishevelled, from rumpled clothing to unkempt hair. The word derives from 'blowze', an archaic term for a ruddy-faced wench, and entered English in the early seventeenth century. It sits alongside close relatives such as 'frowzy' (emphasising dirtiness or staleness) and 'dowdy' (emphasising drabness), but 'blowzy' specifically evokes a flushed, coarsened look. Though somewhat old-fashioned, it remains a vivid choice for writers of descriptive fiction and character sketches, conveying both physical disorder and a suggestion of moral laxity in a single word.
adjective(Of a woman or her appearance) coarse, red-faced, and untidy-looking from drinking or dissolute living; more generally, slovenly and dishevelled in appearance.
- (Of a person, especially a woman) having a red, coarse face and an untidy appearance, as from drink or a dissipated life.
- More broadly, slovenly, unkempt, or dishevelled in appearance.
"She arrived at the interview looking blowzy, her hair unkempt and her blouse half-tucked."
"The landlady was a blowzy woman with a permanent flush across her cheeks."
"He ran a hand through his blowzy hair before stepping out of the taxi."
Before it described a dishevelled look, 'blowzy' was simply the adjective form of 'blowze' — an archaic English word for a ruddy-faced wench.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blowzy
'Blowzy' comes from 'blowze', an obsolete English noun meaning a fat, red-faced wench, first recorded around the turn of the seventeenth century. The origin of 'blowze' itself is uncertain, though it may be related to dialect words for a bloated or swollen appearance. The adjective was well established by the eighteenth century, when writers used it to depict coarse, hard-drinking women, and its sense later broadened to describe any unkempt, dishevelled appearance.
Related word forms
How blowzy is actually used
Somewhat literary or old-fashioned in register today, but still current in descriptive prose. Traditionally applied to women, though modern usage is increasingly gender-neutral. The word carries strongly negative connotations of coarseness and neglect.
Easily confused with blowzy
'Frowzy' means dirty, unkempt, or stale-smelling, while 'blowzy' specifically suggests a red-faced, coarsened appearance often associated with heavy drinking; the two are near-synonyms but 'frowzy' emphasises grubbiness rather than flushed coarseness.
'Blozy' is a rare dialectal variant of 'blowzy', not a separate word with its own meaning.