Meaning & use
floozy
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Meaning
nouncountableoffensiveold-fashionedinformal
A dated and insulting word for a woman judged by the speaker to be sexually loose or cheaply flashy.
Grammar: A put-down aimed at a woman, so it is better to avoid it and use it only when discussing the word or older stories.
Patterns
- call someone a floozy
In the old film, the gossiping neighbor calls the singer a floozy.
The word floozy is considered sexist, and most speakers now avoid it.
The novel's villain dismisses every woman she dislikes as a floozy.
Word forms
| plural | floozies |
|---|
Common combinations
- call someone a floozy
- In the play, the landlady calls the new tenant a floozy, which shows her prejudice.
- a painted floozy
- Old stories often describe a painted floozy in a smoky bar.
- a cheap floozy
- A cheap floozy is a stock figure in many vintage comedies.
- dismiss as a floozy
- Reviewers noted that the script dismisses the heroine as a floozy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hussy
- Hussy is similarly dated and insulting, though it can sound slightly more playful than floozy.
- tart
- Tart is a British informal insult that suggests flashiness and is considered rude and sexist.
- strumpet
- Strumpet is archaic and appears mostly in historical writing, which makes it sound less current than floozy.
Word family
- floozie noun
- a less common spelling of floozy
- floozies noun
- the plural form
Commonly confused: floozy or flossy?
floozy vs flossy
Flossy means fluffy or showy and is a different word, with no insulting sense.
Practice
Why do most modern writers avoid calling a woman a floozy?
Choose one answer.
Floozy is a dated insult that judges a woman's morals. It is not technical or polite and says nothing about nationality.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “floozy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.