tousled

[tou-zuhld]

adjective

1. disordered or disheveled.

   tousled hair; tousled clothes.

   Synonyms: untidy, tangled, messy

Word History and Origins

Origin of tousled¹

First recorded in 1840–50; tousle + -ed ²

Example Sentences

With an open smile, he reached out and tousled the children’s heads till they too were cheerful again.

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“The Incorrigibles have very strikingly colored hair,” she said thoughtfully, gazing down at the three tousled heads.

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Hine’s tousled little boy, who looks forlornly into the camera with scowling dark eyes beneath a furrowed brow, likely had no such liberating choice.

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He had been famous since he was a teenager and a sex symbol for just as long, a tousled Californian with a movie star smile.

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She hadn’t brought it along to brush his tousled curls.

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