shaggy
Americanadjective
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having or covered with rough unkempt fur, hair, wool, etc
a shaggy dog
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rough or unkempt
-
(in textiles) having a nap of long rough strands
Other Word Forms
- shaggily adverb
- shagginess noun
Etymology
Origin of shaggy
Explanation
Shaggy things are messy, thick, and rough. Your long-haired mixed breed dog might be shaggy, while your sister's sleek Siamese cat isn't shaggy at all. Shaggy almost always describes an animal's fur or a person's unruly hair. A well-loved stuffed animal might be soft and shaggy, and your brother's curly hair is especially shaggy when he first rolls out of bed in the morning. On the cartoon "Scooby Doo," Scooby's best friend is a goofy, shaggy-haired guy named Shaggy. Shaggy followed the earlier adjective shagged, from the Old English sceacgede, or "hairy."
Vocabulary lists containing shaggy
Shear Genius: Hairy Vocabulary
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"Holding Up the Sky" and "The Girl and the Chenoo"
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I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910
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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.
Giant anteaters have black and white diagonal stripes, dense shaggy hair and super-sized snouts.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Rhodamnia zombi is described as a small to medium sized tree with large dark green leaves, shaggy bark, and fuzzy white flowers.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
The Arizona boys don’t seem inclined to get in over their shaggy heads.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
Her spring trip goes heavy on wild greens, with a good dose of truffle hunting, while the fall is a bonanza of shaggy parasol mushrooms and mountain villages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
Mick brushed back her shaggy bangs with the palm of her hand.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
