kempt
Americanadjective
-
neatly or tidily kept.
a kempt little cottage.
-
combed, as hair.
adjective
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of kempt
First recorded before 1050; 1925–30 kempt for def. 1; Middle English kempte, kembyd; Old English cemd-, past participle of cemban “to comb”; comb, unkempt
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.
Comey, perfectly kempt in a suit jacket and collared shirt, accessorized with a grin.
From New York Times
It was swank, and packed with a diverse crowd of about 200 that skewed young — lots of beards, both kempt and unkempt, and beanies galore.
From Washington Post
Even less kempt, Walton Goggins gets to play an angry, avenging figure, given to oratory and mind games.
From New York Times
As he wrote, “reality is always more complex than invention: less kempt, cruder, less rounded out”.
From Nature
He looks normal—kempt, softened—which is to say that he does not look like his circumstances.
From The New Yorker
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.
