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.
“The Lowdown” tames Lee’s mania for his cause through the barely obscured current of hangdog defeat weakly powering his personal life.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025
Finn Russell looked hangdog - and that takes some doing.
From BBC ● Sep. 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
The hangdog expression he habitually wears he describes as “resting dead wife face.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2023
The Second Part of Rhetoric 89 That teed up what was to follow: the somewhat hangdog expression of national determination that was, a few days later, to lead to the formal declaration of war.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
