dishabille

English

Alternative forms

• deshabille

Pronunciation

• enPR: /ˌdĭs-ə-ˈbēl, -ˈbil/, IPA: /dɪsəˈbiːl, -ˈbɪl/

Noun

dishabille (uncountable)

1. Extreme casual or disorderly dress, shirt tail out, sleeves unbuttoned, etc.
   • 1891, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

     A little after 3:15 o’clock yesterday afternoon a stream of people, hatless, coatless, some in an even worse state of dishabille rushed down the stairs or to the elevators of every one of the downtown buildings and onto the streets, their faces showing every sign of terror.

2. A loose, negligent dress.
   • 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 44

     She wore a dishabille of mignonette-green silk and bead-diapered head-dress that added several inches to her height [...].

See also

• deshabille
• habiliment