hangdog

[hang-dawg, -dog]

adjective

browbeaten; defeated; intimidated; abject: He always went about with a hangdog look.

shamefaced; guilty: He sneaked out of the room with a hangdog expression.

suitable to a degraded or contemptible person; sneaky; furtive.

noun

Archaic. a degraded, contemptible person.

Origin of hangdog

First recorded in 1670–80; hang + dog

SYNONYMS FOR hangdog

2. ashamed, contrite, crestfallen.

ANTONYMS FOR hangdog

1. confident, assured.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hang-dog

They were all cowed and hang-dog once more, and made not the slightest effort to save the youth.
Aaron's Rod|D. H. Lawrence
"To cut your throat, you hang-dog scoundrel," said Sampson, irately.
The Wreck of the Titan|Morgan Robertson
We must put it off till the man can shake that hang-dog air of his.
An Alabaster Box|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and Florence Morse Kingsley
The shifty eye, the hang-dog look, outweighed the plea of his counsel and the call for strict impartiality from the bench.
Dark Hollow|Anna Katherine Green

"He drinks—depend upon it he drinks spirits, and that's what gives him that hang-dog look," said Archie.
Archie's Mistake|G. E. Wyatt

British Dictionary definitions for hang-dog

hangdog

adjective

downcast, furtive, or guilty in appearance or manner

noun

a furtive or sneaky person

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

Word Origin and History for hang-dog

hang-dog

adj.

also hangdog, 1670s, "befitting a hang-dog," a despicable, degraded fellow, so called either from notion of being fit only to hang a dog (cf. cutthroat) or of being a low person (i.e. dog) fit only for hanging. As a noun from 1680s.