finery
/ˈfaɪnəri/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfaɪnəri/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfī-nə-rē ˈfīn-rē/ (ame, mw)
finery — noun
1. elaborate, decorative clothes and jewellery that someone puts on to look impress
elaborate, decorative clothes and jewellery that someone puts on to look impressive at a special event such as a wedding, ball, or formal ceremony
Sofia arrived at her sister's wedding dressed in all her finery.
common pattern: dressed in (all) one's finery
The guests gathered in the ballroom, each one wearing their best finery for the royal banquet.
collocation: wear / wearing one's finery
Hassan watched as the dancers stepped onto the stage in colourful silk finery.
After the ceremony, Nora carefully packed away her grandmother's wedding finery into a wooden trunk.
The children laughed and pointed at the peacocks parading their bright feathered finery across the garden lawn.
- regalia
more formal; suggests official ceremonial dress (military, royal, academic)
- best clothes
everyday equivalent; lacks the showy, decorative nuance
- Sunday best
informal; one's smartest outfit, traditionally for church
- glad rags
informal British; festive party clothing
- rags
old, worn-out clothing — the literary opposite
- everyday clothes
ordinary daily wear, not for special occasions
文法句型
in one's finery
dressed in finery
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable and often preceded by a possessive (her finery, their finery) or 'all'. Frequently appears in the fixed phrase 'in one's finery'. Can extend figuratively to a bird's bright plumage or a building's ornate decoration.