scruffy

adjective

ˈskrə-fē 

scruffier; scruffiest

: unkempt, slovenly, shaggy

a scruffy neighborhood

a scruffy beard

scruffily

ˈskrə-fə-lē 

adverb

scruffiness

ˈskrə-fē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• beat-up
• bombed-out
• dilapidated
• dog-eared
• down-at-the-heels
• down-at-heel
• down-at-the-heel
• down-at-heels
• dumpy
• grungy
• mangy
• mean
• miserable
• moth-eaten
• neglected
• ratty
• run-down
• scrubby
• seedy
• shabby
• sleazy
• tacky
• tatterdemalion
• tatty
• threadbare
• timeworn
• tumbledown

Examples of scruffy in a Sentence

The neighborhood is full of dilapidated houses with scruffy backyards.

dressed in scruffy old clothes to clean out the garage

Recent Examples on the Web

Twelve miles outside Missoula, Montana Snowbowl makes a scruffy first impression. —Elaine Glusac, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025

Barrett, a scruffy 34-year-old with a subtle surfer drawl, launched Almost Friday with his younger brothers, Max, 33, and Sam, 28. —Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 6 Feb. 2025

Perhaps it was thought that ‘civilian’ clothes and scruffy hair would present him as a teenager with boyish potential, whereas a glossy makeover would risk hurriedly packaging the kid as Madrid’s next galactico-in-waiting. —Jordan Campbell, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025

In the city's scruffy downtown — which connects to El Paso's downtown by an international bridge — strays compete for territory and food from restaurants or overflowing trash cans. —Lauren Villagran, Austin American-Statesman, 2 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

scruff, metathetic variant of scurf (also with senses "something worthless or contemptible, contemptible person") + -y entry 1

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

scruffy

adjective

ˈskrəf-ē 

scruffier; scruffiest

: dirty or shabby in appearance

a scruffy beard