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.
Tom Waits also turns up, radiating his usual hangdog appeal, for another tangential but important scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
“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
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
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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
