haggard

¹

[hag-erd]

adjective

1. having a gaunt, wasted, or exhausted appearance, as from prolonged suffering, exertion, or anxiety; worn.

   the haggard faces of the tired troops.

   Synonyms: hollow-eyed, drawn, emaciated
   Antonyms: robust

2. Archaic.,  wild; wild-looking.

   haggard eyes.

3. Falconry.,  (especially of a hawk caught after it has attained adult plumage) untamed.

noun

1. Falconry.,  a wild or untamed hawk caught after it has assumed adult plumage.

Haggard

²

[hag-erd]

noun

1. (Sir) H(enry) Rider, 1856–1925, English novelist.

haggard

¹

/ ˈhæɡəd /

adjective

1. careworn or gaunt, as from lack of sleep, anxiety, or starvation

2. wild or unruly

3. (of a hawk) having reached maturity in the wild before being caught

noun

1. falconry a hawk that has reached maturity before being caught Compare eyas passage hawk

Haggard

²

/ ˈhæɡəd /

noun

1. Sir ( Henry ) Rider . 1856–1925, British author of romantic adventure stories, including King Solomon's Mines (1885)

haggard

³

/ ˈhæɡərd /

noun

1. (in Ireland and the Isle of Man) an enclosure beside a farmhouse in which crops are stored

Other Word Forms

• haggardly adverb
• haggardness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of haggard¹

First recorded in 1560–70; originally, “wild female hawk”; hag ¹, -ard

Word History and Origins

Origin of haggard¹

C16: from Old French hagard wild; perhaps related to _hedge

Origin of haggard²

C16: related to Old Norse heygarthr, from hey hay + garthr yard

Example Sentences

As she had nervously explained to Lord Fredrick and his haggard houseguest just the other day, she had chosen a nature theme for the baby’s room.

Read more on Literature

“Caesar had now been performing for eight years,” Mr. Margolick writes, “and, thin and haggard, wore every week of it . . . it had happened in spurts rather than in increments.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Footage of the Palestinian detainees being released into Gaza, wearing gray prison sweatsuits, shows them looking haggard and thinner compared with photos taken before they were detained.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I did the one pair of wheels - I will say they're absolutely haggard," he laughed.

Read more on BBC

He is in somewhat better shape as Odysseus, the haggard, haunted heart of “The Return,” Uberto Pasolini’s take on the final section of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”

Read more on New York Times