hangdog
Americanadjective
-
He sneaked out of the room with a hangdog expression.
-
browbeaten; defeated; intimidated.
He always went about with a hangdog look.
- Synonyms:
- crestfallen, wretched
-
suitable to a degraded or contemptible person; sneaky; furtive.
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of hangdog
Explanation
A hangdog look is one that betrays a feeling of shame, embarrassment, or fear. Your hangdog expression after sneaking a whoopee cushion onto your teacher's chair is a dead giveaway that you're guilty. Use the adjective hangdog to describe someone's cowering appearance or the sheepish look on her face. You might have a hangdog look if you're afraid of getting in trouble, or if you regret your actions. The now-obsolete root noun hang-dog was used in the 17th century to mean "a despicable, low person," or someone who's "only fit to hang a dog," or sometimes "only fit to be hung (like a dog)."
Vocabulary lists containing hangdog
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 that hangdog Villaraigosa was nowhere to be seen tonight.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Dressed in a blue blazer, Mr Cohen had ditched the tie but kept his signature hangdog expression and thick Long Island accent.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2023
He has a flair for deadpan sarcasm and cynicism, a great hangdog expression, and you get him to sing in one scene.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2023
Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s hangdog former lawyer, is a key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s case.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
“It’s £ash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell,” pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn’t look at us.
From "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
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.
