ragged

[rag-id]

adjective

1. clothed in tattered garments.

   a ragged old man.

   Synonyms: poor, shabby
   Antonyms: neat

2. torn or worn to rags; rag; tattered.

   ragged clothing.

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

4. having loose or hanging shreds or fragmentary bits.

   a ragged wound.

5. full of rough or sharp projections; jagged.

   ragged stones.

6. in a wild or neglected state.

   a ragged garden.

7. rough, imperfect, or faulty.

   a ragged piece of work.

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

9. (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.

ragged

/ ˈræɡɪd /

adjective

1. (of clothes) worn to rags; tattered

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

3. having a neglected or unkempt appearance

   ragged weeds

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

5. uneven or irregular

   a ragged beat

   a ragged shout

Other Word Forms

• raggedly adverb
• raggedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ragged¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, ragged is from the Middle English word ragget. See rag ¹, -ed ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of ragged¹

C13: probably from ragge _rag ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see run one ragged.

Example Sentences

For more than an hour, I lost myself in a flow state as I sought to replicate the slender mushroom’s fine gills and delicate but ragged skirt.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"It was actually quite a pragmatic performance, and they were not run ragged. They were maybe too defensive at times, but they were nice and compact, worked hard and were in the game at half-time."

Read more on BBC

Against this enclave’s polished stone walls and bannisters, Lee looks every ragged inch of the tawdry menace the politicians and businessmen he squares off against expect him to be.

Read more on Salon

To the north, a sickly orange haze hung along the horizon, a reminder of the inferno that had reduced parts of their school to a ragged tangle of charred masonry, metal and wood.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A ragged anger dominates Jones’ energy, but it’s tempered with loving determination.

Read more on Salon