hangdog

[ hang-dawg, -dog ]
See synonyms for hangdog on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. shamefaced; guilty: He sneaked out of the room with a hangdog expression.

  2. browbeaten; defeated; intimidated: He always went about with a hangdog look.

  1. suitable to a degraded or contemptible person; sneaky; furtive.

noun
  1. a degraded, contemptible person.

Origin of hangdog

1
First recorded in 1670–80; hang + dog

Other words for hangdog

Opposites for hangdog

Words Nearby hangdog

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

How to use hangdog in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hangdog

hangdog

/ (ˈhæŋˌdɒɡ) /


adjective
  1. downcast, furtive, or guilty in appearance or manner

noun
  1. a furtive or sneaky person

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