EN

Synonyms for apparel

Most common

dress attire garb clothe ornament adorn

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Dress — to dress or clothe; to attire

dress, clothe, garb, attire, garment, gear, costume, array, vesture, robe, equip, tog, habit, guise, enrobe, enclothe, habilitate, accouter US, accoutre UK

Other

adorn, don't, kit out UK, ornament, dight dated

Noun

1. Clothing

clothing, clothes, wardrobe, habiliment, vestment, raiment formal dated, wearing apparel dated

Other

fit-out, put-on informal, rigging

Definitions

  1. v. 1

    To dress or clothe; to attire.

    They which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.

  2. n. 1

    Clothing.

Related words

Phrases
wearing apparel intimate apparel

Forms

Plural
apparels → clothings, wardrobes, habiliments, vestments…
Past participle
appareled
e.g. appareled → drest, clothed, garbed, attired…

Choose the right word

Apparel, Dress or Attire?

Dress has now largely displaced apparel and attire.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • dress She stood out because she was wearing a red dress.
  • attire The neatness of his attire was almost incredible.
  • garb Dressed in ceremonial garb, he began the ritual.
  • clothe It's preferable that I clothe you instead of feeding you.
  • ornament Friends who pay a visit are an ornament to the home.
  • adorn Man adorns the place, the place doesn't adorn the man.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
apparelsteady
dressrising
attirerising
garbrising
clothesteady
ornamentfalling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
tog
4 letters
gear1, robe1, garb1
5 letters
dress1, habit2, array2, equip2, guise1, adorn2, dight
6 letters
attire3, clothe1, enrobe
7 letters
clothes1, costume2, garment2, rigging2, raiment, vesture
8 letters
clothing2, wardrobe2, ornament3, vestment2, enclothe, accouter, accoutre
10 letters
habilitate, habiliment

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (habit2 = 2 syllables).