scraggly

[ skrag-lee ]

adjective

, scrag·gli·er, scrag·gli·est.

1. irregular; uneven; jagged.
2. shaggy; ragged; unkempt.

scraggly

/ ˈskræɡlɪ /

adjective

1. untidy or irregular

Word History and Origins

Origin of scraggly¹

First recorded in 1865–70; scrag + -ly

Example Sentences

Pecan trees, in particular, can be harmed by too much salt, growing scraggly and producing less fruit.

From MIT Technology Review

Spalding was scraggly bearded and endlessly aggrieved, and some of his fellow clerics believed he was deranged.

From Washington Post

All I could see now was that his once sexy, scraggly hair was so obviously a wig.

From The Daily Beast

The wrap looked a little scraggly close up, but from any distance Valerie seemed an image out of the golden age of Hollywood.

From The Daily Beast

He was unshaven, with a goatee and long, scraggly hair, and looked miserable and not a little creepy.

From The Daily Beast

He had a scraggly beard and his once clean-shaven head was ringed by a horseshoe of graying hair.

From The Daily Beast

The snake is wriggling like crazy, but now has its neck wound around a couple of scraggly bushes.

From The Daily Beast

His scraggly beard was thrust forward aggressively, and his deep-set eyes fairly blazed between narrowed lids.

From Project Gutenberg

A smoky tunnel, a scraggly belt of half-city—and then the real country.

From Project Gutenberg

The Cap'n, glancing behind, noted that a certain scraggly island had once more slid into view from behind a wooded head.

From Project Gutenberg

That portion of his face not covered by the scraggly beard was as white as mud and dirt would permit.

From Project Gutenberg

A tall, contemplative man with a scraggly gray beard—an angular Christ-like figure—appeared.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bedraggled
• scruffy
• unkempt