Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

mangy

or man·gey

[meyn-jee]
See more synonyms for mangy on Thesaurus.com
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.
Show More

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

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
Show More
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).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper