Standard Lemma guide

bedraggled

adj · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /bɪˈdɹæɡl̩d/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B IH0 D R AE1 G AH0 L D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Wet, limp, and unkempt; in disarray due to being doused with water, exposed to the elements, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bedraggled, blowsy, dishevelled, dowdy, dowdyish, down at heel, downgone, qualifier, draggle-tailed, draggled, frowsy, frumpy, grotty, grufty, grungy, hashy, mangy, mean, out at the heels, piggy, ragtag, ribby, schleppy, schlumpy, scratty, scrofulous, scroungy, scruffy, scrungy, seedy, shabby, slammocky, slatternly, slobbish, slobby, sloppy, slovenlike, slovenly, slummocky, sluttish, tacky, tore up, trampish, unfine, unkemmed, unkempt, unshaven

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Decaying, decrepit or dilapidated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shabby, tacky, scroungy, beat, beat up, beaten up, bedraggled, broken-down, crumbling, derelict, dilapidated, draggled, neglected, ramshackle, ruinous, run-down, seedy, tatterdemalion, timeworn, tumbledown

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

simple past and past participle of bedraggle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, participle, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

limp and soiled as if dragged in the mud

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the beggar's bedraggled clothes
  • scarecrows in battered hats or draggled skirts

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: draggled

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

in deplorable condition

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a street of bedraggled tenements
  • a broken-down fence
  • a ramshackle old pier
  • a tumble-down shack

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: broken-down, derelict, dilapidated, ramshackle, tatterdemalion, tumble-down

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h1épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h1epider. Proto-Indo-European *h1pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- English drag Proto-Germanic *-lōną Old English -lian Middle English -len English -le English draggle English bedraggle English -ed English bedraggled From bedraggle + -ed.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 全身湿透的 — unkempt
  • Chinese Mandarin: 满身泥污的 — unkempt
  • Czech: urousaný — unkempt
  • Czech: umolousaný — unkempt
  • Dutch: onverzorgd — unkempt
  • German: ungepflegt — unkempt
  • German: verdreckt — unkempt
  • Greek: ατημέλητος (atimélitos) — unkempt
  • Hungarian: ápolatlan — unkempt
  • Irish: aimlithe — unkempt
  • Irish: draoibeáilte — unkempt
  • Irish: giobach — unkempt
  • Irish: sraoilleach — unkempt
  • Irish: úcaiste — unkempt
  • Irish: útamáilte — unkempt
  • Māori: hūtotoi — unkempt
  • Māori: hūtoitoi — unkempt
  • Plautdietsch: bekjwiemt — unkempt
  • Dutch: bouwvallig — decaying, dilapidated
  • Dutch: onderkomen — decaying, dilapidated
  • French: débraillé — decaying, dilapidated
  • German: baufällig — decaying, dilapidated
  • German: heruntergekommen — decaying, dilapidated
  • Hungarian: elhanyagolt — decaying, dilapidated