ragged

[ rag-id ]
See synonyms for ragged on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. clothed in tattered garments: a ragged old man.

  2. torn or worn to rags; tattered: ragged clothing.

  1. shaggy, as an animal, its coat, etc.

  2. having loose or hanging shreds or fragmentary bits: a ragged wound.

  3. full of rough or sharp projections; jagged: ragged stones.

  4. in a wild or neglected state: a ragged garden.

  5. rough, imperfect, or faulty: a ragged piece of work.

  6. harsh, as sound, the voice, etc.

  7. (of a column of type) set or printed with one side unjustified; either flush left with the right side unjustified (ragged right ) or flush right with the left side unjustified (ragged left ).

Origin of ragged

1
First recorded in 1250–1300, ragged is from the Middle English word ragget.See rag1, -ed3

Other words for ragged

Opposites for ragged

Other words from ragged

  • rag·ged·ly, adverb
  • rag·ged·ness, noun

Words Nearby ragged

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ragged in a sentence

  • But not too big for the ragged old arm that felled it down as an axe fells the last rings of a stricken tree.

    A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
  • A handkerchief, once red, with polka spots, contained a ragged flannel shirt and a stocking-heel tied with a piece of tape.

    A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
  • Nevertheless, he was girt with a sword in a ragged scabbard hanging from a frayed and shabby belt of leather.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • The girl looked round the ragged moor, brooding in the twilight, and half hesitated.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • The spell was broken, and Mr. Carr took out his watch as he turned his eyes on a ragged urchin who had called to him from below.

    Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for ragged

ragged

/ (ˈræɡɪd) /


adjective
  1. (of clothes) worn to rags; tattered

  2. (of a person) dressed in shabby tattered clothes

  1. having a neglected or unkempt appearance: ragged weeds

  2. having a loose, rough, or uneven surface or edge; jagged

  3. uneven or irregular: a ragged beat; a ragged shout

Origin of ragged

1
C13: probably from ragge rag 1

Derived forms of ragged

  • raggedly, adverb
  • raggedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with ragged

ragged

see run one ragged.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.