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Synonyms

straggly

American  
[strag-lee] / ˈstræg li /

adjective

stragglier, straggliest
  1. straggling; rambling.


Etymology

Origin of straggly

First recorded in 1865–70; straggle + -y 1

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:

Two years ago, he turned several straggly islands off Miami into blooming lily pads by surrounding them with hot-pink fabric.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

His hair was a mess of seaweed, the straggly green strands bobbing up and down on the surface of the water.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2024

His floor-length fur is straggly and windblown, giving him a disheveled look incongruent with this toy breed’s stereotypical silky-smooth fur and ribbons in their hair.

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2023

Flip this folded dough over so the seam is on the bottom, smooshing in any straggly bits, and sprinkling flour over any naked chunks of butter or otherwise sticky spots.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023

Zola scrambles over the fence and up the hill and peers in through the straggly wire fencing.

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

It wasn’t too long before we were all stretched out, a long and straggling line that got longer and stragglier the farther we went.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

In the last and straggliest of those streets which runs along the sea like a sea-wall there is a very honest but rather sharp-tempered member of my flock, a widow called MacNab.

From The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

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