adjective having ragged notches, points, or teeth; zigzag: the jagged edge of a saw; a jagged wound.
having a harsh, rough, or uneven quality.
Origin of jagged 1400–50; late Middle English. See
jag1 ,
-ed2 Related forms jag·ged·ly , adverb jag·ged·ness , noun un·jag·ged , adjective noun a sharp projection on an edge or surface.
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verb (used with object), jagged, jag·ging. to cut or slash, especially in points or pendants along the edge; form notches, teeth, or ragged points in.
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verb (used without object), jagged, jag·ging. to move with a jerk; jog.
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Origin of jag 1 1350–1400; late Middle English jagge (noun), jaggen (v.), of obscure origin
Related forms jag·less , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for jagged craggy ,
uneven ,
rugged ,
irregular ,
broken ,
ridged ,
barbed ,
pointed ,
serrated ,
cleft ,
rough ,
harsh ,
scabrous ,
denticulate ,
snaggy ,
toothed ,
unlevel Examples from the Web for jagged Contemporary Examples of jagged Their jagged edges and razor sharp teeth make you stand a little further back then normal.
Picasso worked from the photograph to create the blocked, jagged shapes he painted on canvas.
Jagged walls of rock, a palette of blacks and greys, loom over us.
The landscape is immense—rivers, hills, flatlands, jagged mountains.
Situated at 5,400 feet, it's encircled by jagged peaks that make you feel you're cupped inside a caldera.
Historical Examples of jagged The joint is jagged in lamb, but smooth and round in mutton.
At the third jump his hat flew off, disclosing the jagged end of a two-by-four.
The bark is jagged by the slashes of venomous chassepot bullets.
He took off his hat, and showed her where the brim had a jagged tear half an inch deep.
The jagged recesses of the Mona valley were dark with shadow.
British Dictionary definitions for jagged adjective having sharp projecting notches; ragged; serrate
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Derived Forms jaggedly , adverb jaggedness , noun verb jags , jagging or jagged (tr) to cut unevenly; make jagged
Australian to catch (fish) by impaling them on an unbaited hook
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noun a jagged notch or projection
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Word Origin for jag C14: of unknown origin
noun slang intoxication from drugs or alcohol a bout of drinking or drug taking a period of uncontrolled activity a crying jag
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Word Origin for jag of unknown origin
noun informal a Jaguar car: often understood as a symbol of affluence
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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 jagged adj. mid-15c., from verb jaggen (c.1400) "to pierce, slash, cut; to notch or nick; cut or tear unevenly," Scottish and northern English, of unknown origin. Originally of garments with regular "toothed" edges; meaning "with the edge irregularly cut" is from 1570s. Related: Jaggedly ; jaggedness .
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n.1 "period of unrestrained activity," 1887, American English, perhaps via intermediate sense of "as much drink as a man can hold" (1670s), from earlier meaning "load of hay or wood" (1590s), of unknown origin. Used in U.S. colloquial speech from 1834 to mean "a quantity, a lot."
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n.2 "slash or rend in a garment," c.1400, of unknown origin.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
