dress vs apparel

dress and apparel both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
dress	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
apparel	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, dress and apparel are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of dress include clothes, wearing apparel.

As verbs, dress and apparel are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of dress include clothe, enclothe, fit out, garb, garment, habilitate, raiment, tog.

dress (noun)	apparel (noun)
a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice	clothing in general
clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
clothing in general

dress (adjective)	apparel (adjective)
(of an occasion) requiring formal clothes
suitable for formal occasions

dress (verb)	apparel (verb)
put on clothes	provide with clothes or put clothes on
provide with clothes or put clothes on
apply a bandage or medication to
arrange attractively
dress or groom with elaborate care
give a neat appearance to
dress in a certain manner
kill and prepare for market or consumption
convert into leather
put a dressing on
put a finish on
cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
provide with decoration
cut down rough-hewn (lumber) to standard thickness and width
decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
arrange in ranks