adj
Meaning 1
Of a person's beard or hair: combed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: unkempt
Standard Lemma guide
kempt
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
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General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /kɛm(p)t/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛmpt
adj
Meaning 2
Of wool or other fibres: combed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, spinning, sports
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: unkempt
adj
Meaning 3
Neat and tidy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, humorous, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: well-groomed, all Sir Garnet, Bristol fashion and shipshape, in order, neat, neat and tidy, neat as a new pin, neat as a pin, nice as ninepence, orderly, prest, regular, ruly, shipshape, shipshape and Bristol fashion, squared away, tidy, tight, tiptop, tosh, trig, trim, well-kept
Antonyms: ill-kempt, unkempt, chaotic, cluttered, disorderly, messy, ree-raw, riotous, sluttish, tempestuous, tumultuary, tumultuous, turbulent, untidy, 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, tacky, tore up, trampish, unfine, unkemmed, unshaven
verb
Meaning 4
simple past and past participle of kemb.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, participle, past
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: kembed
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
(of hair) neat and tidy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a nicely kempt beard
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: tidy
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Partly from both of the following: * An adjective use of kempt, the past participle of kemb (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) to comb”), from Middle English kemben (“to comb (oneself or someone, or something); to card (wool, etc.); to make (something) elegant or smooth; (figurative) to make (something) gentle”) (compare the past participle forms kempde, kempte), from Old English cemban (“to comb”) from Proto-West Germanic *kambijan (“to comb, kemb”), from Proto-Germanic *kambijaną (“to comb, kemb”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbhos (“tooth; row of teeth”), from *ǵembh- (“to bite, chomp; to crunch”). * A back-formation from unkempt.
From kemb + -t (suffix forming the past tense and/or past participle forms of verbs).