tousled
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of tousled
Explanation
Anything that's tousled is rumpled or disheveled, like your tousled hair when you first get out of bed in the morning. The adjective tousled can be used for anything that's untidy, but you'll usually see it describing a head of hair. Tousled hair is messy, windblown, or otherwise unkempt. The verb tousle came first—today it means "make untidy," but originally to tousle was "to handle or push roughly."
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.
Tousled gray curls dangle over his forehead, and a gray mustache and goatee trace their path around his mouth and down his neck.
From Washington Times • Mar. 2, 2015
Tousled hair, smudged eyeliner, dewy lips and luminous skin are in.
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2012
Tousled, windblown locks, known as “beach hair,” are so sought-after that it’s no longer just for seaside.
From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2011
Tousled, dignified, looking like a dirty-blonde middle sister to Joan Jett and Bonnie Raitt, Williams appeared to be reading lyrics to alt-country classics like "Drunken Angel" and "I Lost It" from a three-ring binder.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 22, 2010
Tousled and disheveled, dirty and with his clothes awry, there stood the urchin who was, it seemed, continually getting into mischief at or around the Corner House.
From The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat How they sailed away, what happened on the voyage, and what was discovered by Hill, Grace Brooks
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.
