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
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(in textiles) having a nap of long rough strands
Other Word Forms
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.
It’s loose and playful, which would seem to be a plus, but it’s too shaggy and imprecise to land, and sometimes seems as if it were made up on the spot.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
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
Across the aisle, a young man with shaggy hair and a tweed blazer noticed the book on my lap.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
They had gathered at the starboard rail to stare at the dozens of weird shaggy monsters milling through the crowds.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
