hangdog
shamefaced; guilty: He sneaked out of the room with a hangdog expression.
browbeaten; defeated; intimidated: He always went about with a hangdog look.
a degraded, contemptible person.
Origin of hangdog
1Other words for hangdog
Opposites for hangdog
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hangdog in a sentence
The thought of that hang-dog visage, and the beautiful ornaments I had given him, was enough to make a dead man merry.
The Making of a Saint | William Somerset MaughamI cannot think yon hang dog look of his belongs to any one who knows the gentle rules of woodcraft.
Quentin Durward | Sir Walter ScottNancy told Aldo about the viatique, and he said, with a hang-dog air, he would go and ask for it.
The Devourers | Annie Vivanti ChartresI was never myself with it, felt hang-dog—it was impossible a girl could care for such a fellow as I was.
Rhoda Fleming, Complete | George MeredithFor a moment Louis' hang-dog face—none the handsomer for the mark of the Syndic's cane—spelt refusal.
The Long Night | Stanley Weyman
British Dictionary definitions for hangdog
/ (ˈhæŋˌdɒɡ) /
downcast, furtive, or guilty in appearance or manner
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
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