Synonyms

bedraggle

American

[bih-drag-uhl] / bɪˈdræg əl /

verb (used with object)

bedraggled, bedraggling

to make limp and soiled, as with rain or dirt.

bedraggle British

/ bɪˈdræɡəl /

verb

(tr) to make (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

Etymology

Origin of bedraggle

First recorded in 1720–30; be- + draggle

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.

Here in town, she probably preferred to tread the extent of the two drawing-rooms, and measure out the miles by spaces of forty feet, rather than bedraggle her skirts over the sloppy pavements.

From The Blithedale Romance by Hawthorne, Nathaniel

But no blast can chill its wings, no mire bedraggle, or rude touch fray.

From Sister Dolorosa and Posthumous Fame by Allen, James Lane

Instead of cultivating your graces you bedraggle them with labor!

From For Gold or Soul? The Story of a Great Department Store by Sheldon, Lurana W.

But Mathews had no Judge Lawlack to bedraggle justice for his sake.

From The Squatter and the Don by Loyal, C.

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