VocabauraVOCABAURA

frill

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fril
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfɹɪl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. zoology

    The relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles, with either a bony support or a cartilaginous one.

  2. A strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trim

  3. An external body part consisting of feathers or hair about the neck of a bird or other animal

  4. figurative

    Something extraneous or not essential; something purely for show or effect; a luxury.

  5. figurative

    A substance or material on the edge of something, resembling such a strip of fabric.

verb

  1. transitive

    To provide or decorate with a frill or frills; to turn back in crimped plaits.

  2. intransitive

    To become wrinkled.

  3. transitive

    To make into a frill.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles, with either a bony support or a cartilaginous one.

Used this way, frill is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • flounce , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “frill”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Strip / substance

paper frill

External

neck frillshirt frill

Other combinations

lace frillwhite frillfrill roundunnecessary frillbony frill

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • frilled lizardnounCompound term

    Large arboreal insectivorous Australian lizard with a ruff of skin around the neck.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles

ruffleflounceRare

verb

Sense: to provide or decorate with a frill or frills

flounceRare

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Keep learning “frill” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.

Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.

Know the meaning? Practice vocabulary in real situations.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.