scruffy
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.
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The tension between instinct and domesticity is at the heart of almost all canine fiction, including three scruffy, intriguing books from this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The scruffy schoolboy-look was rectified by an anonymous figure inadvertently stealing the situation's authority.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
"It was pretty tough this morning. Feel like I hit some pretty scruffy golf shots, which in some ways is to be expected."
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
Joseph’s look contrasts with the somewhat scruffy beard and receding hairline of the donor kneeling at the right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Her buckskin jerkin and leggings were scruffy, but her bow and quiver were beautiful, the arrows deftly fletched with owl feathers for silent flight.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“Drive-Away Dolls” might suggest a return to a scruffier sensibility.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2024
They pit establishment power against a new, scruffier and perhaps more vital power.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2023
The mug shot posted by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office appears to show the same person as in the shot posted on Mr. Jurgens’ LinkedIn account, although he looks considerably scruffier in the arrest photo.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
The play is being staged in the city’s South End, described in “Common Ground” as “a shabbier, scruffier part of the city,” but now polished and pricey.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
In the ’70s, when I was in high school, I feel like it was the scruffier, surfer/skier kids who wore them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2018
She remembered being staggered by the size and opulence of the home, while Sullivan was at his desk "wearing the scruffiest tracksuit".
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
In the early days of their rise, the Stones were the most notorious, scruffiest band of hit-makers in the U.K., where one tabloid headline famously asked, “Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2019
Wild” has been on the air since 2006, he insists he hired a publicist last year “so I don’t have to do P.R.,” and that he’s “still always the scruffiest person at any meeting.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2012
For an hour and 13 minutes the converted Russian tuna boat chased one of the mightiest ships of the Seventh Fleet; in turn, it was chased by one of the scruffiest vessels in the U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
She looked down and saw the scruffiest face looking back, a small dog that apparently had been assembled from leftover dog parts.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Vocabulary lists containing scruffy
