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mangy

or man·gey

[meyn-jee]
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adjective, man·gi·er, man·gi·est.
  1. having, caused by, or like the mange.
  2. contemptible; mean: a mangy trick.
  3. squalid; shabby: a mangy little suburb.
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Origin of mangy

First recorded in 1520–30; mange + -y1
Related formsman·gi·ly, adverbman·gi·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

decrepitdirtyimpoverishedindigentmeanmoth-eatenpoorshabbyshoddysicksleazysqualidtatteredragtag

Examples from the Web for mangy

Historical Examples

  • We'll show 'em that we won't be bothered any longer with their mangy wars.

    The Downfall

    Emile Zola

  • He had goggling, bloodshot eyes, mangy moustaches, and a broken nose.

  • No trace of her passing on the hard earth with its mangy growth of grass.

  • So fine a fellow, and so mangy a following, it would be hard to find.

  • His practice was to wear on his head, in that tropical climate, a mangy fur cap.

    Falk

    Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for mangy

mangy

mangey

adjective -gier or -giest
  1. having or caused by mangea mangy dog
  2. scruffy or shabbya mangy carpet
  3. Irish informal stingy or miserlya mangy reward
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Derived Formsmangily, adverbmanginess, noun
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 mangy

adj.

by 1745, from mange + -y (2).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper