ragged

[ rag-id ]

/ ˈræg ɪd /

adjective

clothed in tattered garments: a ragged old man.

torn or worn to rags; tattered: ragged clothing.

shaggy, as an animal, its coat, etc.

having loose or hanging shreds or fragmentary bits: a ragged wound.

full of rough or sharp projections; jagged: ragged stones.

in a wild or neglected state: a ragged garden.

rough, imperfect, or faulty: a ragged piece of work.

harsh, as sound, the voice, etc.

(of a column of type) set or printed with one side unjustified; either flush left with the right side unjustified (ragged right) or flush right with the left side unjustified (ragged left).

Nearby words

rage, rage quit, rages, ragfish, ragga, ragged, ragged edge, ragged jacket, ragged robin, ragged school, raggedly

Origin of ragged

First recorded in 1250–1300, ragged is from the Middle English word ragget. See rag¹, -ed³

SYNONYMS FOR ragged

1 shabby, poor.

2 shredded, rent.

ANTONYMS FOR ragged

1 neat.

Related formsrag·ged·ly, adverbrag·ged·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for raggedly

Once or twice his raggedly bearded lips stirred in inarticulate movements, but finally he rose and laid a hand on her shoulder.
The Tempering|Charles Neville Buck
Then her gaze came back to her be-crumbed tea-table, with the kitchen knife and the raggedly gaping can.
No. 13 Washington Square|Leroy Scott
He looked up at the spreading plane that tore off raggedly against the night.
The Jewels of Aptor|Samuel R. Delany
He came into town unshorn, wild-looking, often raggedly clad, yet always with the same wistful hunger in his eyes.
The Trail of '98|Robert W. Service

Ayaw tagaktagaka (itagaktagak), Recite it together in unison, not raggedly.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan|John U. Wolff

British Dictionary definitions for raggedly

ragged

/ (ˈræɡɪd) /

adjective

(of clothes) worn to rags; tattered

(of a person) dressed in shabby tattered clothes

having a neglected or unkempt appearanceragged weeds

having a loose, rough, or uneven surface or edge; jagged

uneven or irregulara ragged beat; a ragged shout

Derived Formsraggedly, adverbraggedness, noun

Word Origin for ragged

C13: probably from ragge rag 1

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 raggedly

ragged

adj.

"rough, shaggy," c.1300, past participle adjective as though from a verb form of rag (n.). Cf. Latin pannosus "ragged, wrinkly," from pannus "piece of cloth." But the word might reflect a broader, older meaning; perhaps from or reinforced by Old Norse raggaðr "shaggy," via Old English raggig "shaggy, bristly, rough" (which, Barnhart writes, "was almost surely developed from Scandinavian"). Of clothes, early 14c.; of persons, late 14c. To run (someone) ragged is from 1915. Related: Raggedly; raggedness.

Idioms and Phrases with raggedly

ragged

see run one ragged.