scruffy

[ skruhf-ee ]

/ ˈskrʌf i /

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adjective, scruff·i·er, scruff·i·est.

untidy; shabby.

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Origin of scruffy

First recorded in 1650–60; scruff² + -y¹

Words nearby scruffy

scrub turkey, scrub typhus, scrub-up, scrubwoman, scruff, scruffy, scrum, scrum half, scrummage, scrummie, scrummy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use scruffy in a sentence

Compared with more-traditional farms, Kaufman’s plots look somewhat scruffy.
A recipe for fighting climate change and feeding the world|Sarah Kaplan|October 12, 2021|Washington Post
The highway that links them follows the rail line, four undivided lanes with long, hypnotically straight stretches and no shoulders, just ditches and scruffy pine forest and sandy fields of peanuts.
Hurting in Windsor: How a viral police pepper-spray incident has illuminated racial tensions in a small Virginia town|Gregory S. Schneider|April 15, 2021|Washington Post
The hospital where I work as a research scientist in a synthetic biology lab is vaccinating all its staff, and excited voices from all sorts of people — scruffy graduate students, put-together receptionists — fill the air.
How the CIA’s fake vaccine program in Pakistan helped fuel the anti-vax movement|Hala Iqbal|February 1, 2021|Vox
All the tots are all well scrubbed and smiling, except for one scruffy little guy who’s giving the finger to the camera.
Style Invitational Week 1411: The back end of a Bulwer|Pat Myers|November 19, 2020|Washington Post

There are photos of what looks like a scruffy Californian kid in a T-shirt, taking a break from skateboarding.
The Dark Rock Star Fantasy of Saint Laurent’s Hedi Slimane|Liza Foreman|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They were greeted by the ever-scruffy director, who can be seen in the picture above snapping a shot on his camera phone.
Prince William: How Do You Fly This Thing?|Tom Sykes|April 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He looks like a dog from an Eastern European circus: a small, scruffy dog who you could imagine balancing on a red ball.
Ann Patchett: How I Write|Noah Charney|October 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When she came to power in 1978, Britain was a dreary, dreary place: dingy, funereal, abashed, scruffy, feckless.
How Margaret Thatcher Transformed British Politics|Tunku Varadarajan|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As for Big Bird, Sesame Street should restore the creature to its scruffy perfection no matter who wins the election.
Big Bird’s Big Gay Love Story: From Birth to the 2012 Presidential Race|Michael Daly|October 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for scruffy

scruffy

/ (ˈskrʌfɪ) /

adjective scruffier or scruffiest

unkempt or shabby

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

scruffy

Origin of scruffy

Words nearby scruffy

Words related to scruffy

How to use scruffy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scruffy