Costume
Costume noun - Clothing chosen as appropriate for a specific situation.
Usage example: a tuxedo is the only acceptable costume for men attending a formal event
Dress is a synonym for costume in activity topic. In some cases you can use "Dress" instead the word "Costume" as a noun or a verb or an adjective, when it comes to topics like thing, attire, outfit, clothe. popular alternative
Dress
Dress adjective - Relating to or suitable for wearing to an event requiring elegant dress and manners.
Usage example: the naval commander wore his dress uniform to the ball
Costume is a synonym for dress in clothes topic. You can use "Costume" instead the word "Dress" as a noun or a verb or an adjective, if it concerns topics such as clothing, attire, clothe, apparel. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| fancy | fancy costume | fancy dress |
| old | old costume | old dress |
| maid | maid costume | maid dress |
| full | full costume | full dress |
| Other adjectives: elaborate, similar, normal, usual, complete, gold, original, green, actual, blue, black, dark, cute, white, new, traditional, skimpy, yellow, different, pink, sexy, red, purple, iconic. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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This versatility and ability to work with any shot made the dress immensely popular with Hollywood costume designers, which spread the dress's popularity around the world.
Source: Little Black Dress -
The most glaring example is Setsuka's alternate costume in IV, which references her European origins but is in an Edwardian style dress.
Source: Awesome Anachronistic Apparel -
The closest she has towards an appearance is that one of the costume in the game is Zelda's dress, called Legendary Dress.
Cite this Source
Dress and Costume. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/costume/dress
Costume & Dress. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/costume/dress>.
Dress or Costume. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/costume/dress.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "costume" and "dress" have occurred on timeline