scruffy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Adjective Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of scruffy
Vocabulary lists containing scruffy
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.
See Examples For:
This wasn’t some scruffy satellite tournament in the Poconos, but the fresh-cut lawn of Centre Court, the sport’s grandest cathedral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
A few years later, scorned by the king, Magellan is limping around Lisbon like a scruffy, taskless animal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
After all, Robertson was the scruffy little fat lad who conquered all of Europe twice.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
Smith's game management and kicking ability would be an obvious fix to some rather scruffy and disjointed play that did not allow England to build any pressure in the first Test.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
He stood on the other side of the door in faded jeans and a plain white T-shirt, his beard scruffy and his eyes bloodshot.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
“Drive-Away Dolls” might suggest a return to a scruffier sensibility.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2024
They pit establishment power against a new, scruffier and perhaps more vital power.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2023
The mug shot posted by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office appears to show the same person as in the shot posted on Mr. Jurgens’ LinkedIn account, although he looks considerably scruffier in the arrest photo.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
The play is being staged in the city’s South End, described in “Common Ground” as “a shabbier, scruffier part of the city,” but now polished and pricey.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
In the ’70s, when I was in high school, I feel like it was the scruffier, surfer/skier kids who wore them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2018
She remembered being staggered by the size and opulence of the home, while Sullivan was at his desk "wearing the scruffiest tracksuit".
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
In the early days of their rise, the Stones were the most notorious, scruffiest band of hit-makers in the U.K., where one tabloid headline famously asked, “Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2019
Wild” has been on the air since 2006, he insists he hired a publicist last year “so I don’t have to do P.R.,” and that he’s “still always the scruffiest person at any meeting.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2012
For an hour and 13 minutes the converted Russian tuna boat chased one of the mightiest ships of the Seventh Fleet; in turn, it was chased by one of the scruffiest vessels in the U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
She looked down and saw the scruffiest face looking back, a small dog that apparently had been assembled from leftover dog parts.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
