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Synonyms

bedraggled

American  
[bih-drag-uhld] / bɪˈdræg əld /

adjective

  1. limp and soiled, as with rain or dirt.

bedraggled British  
/ bɪˈdræɡəld /

adjective

  1. (of hair, clothing, etc) limp, untidy, or dirty, as with rain or mud

"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 Word Forms

  • unbedraggled adjective

Etymology

Origin of bedraggled

bedraggle + -ed 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But on what criteria, using what metrics, should the bedraggled managers—who have never had to do this before—make the trade-offs now?

From Slate • Nov. 8, 2025

Every wrinkly finger, bedraggled wig and lipstick-smeared visage are a sight to behold.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2025

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken garnered some mixed reviews in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday after busting out his ’80s-rock chops at a bedraggled but beloved Kyiv bar.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024

Most of them were bedraggled, impoverished; very few of them had survived the Holocaust.

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2024

But he was lucky: orders from on high had not yet changed the bribe-hungry behavior of the four bedraggled soldiers Shin met at guard stations along the Tumen River.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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