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.
See Examples For:
Even Graham Platner, the scruffy Maine oyster farmer, was winning Obama-esque praise before his Senate candidacy imploded.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Officer Britney Myers spotted the scruffy critter and climbed down a manhole after her, as seen in video from the agency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Indiana is in many ways a liminal state, the place you pass through between scruffy Cleveland and business-like Chicago, with little to inspire romantic odes to home.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
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
Then a mockingjay lands on a scruffy tree and begins to mimic my tones so I stop.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
![]()
As I drove there, the well-kept strip malls of Garden Grove transitioned to scruffier ones on the Stanton side.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
“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
But the subprime mortgage crisis that began in 2007 briefly changed that, allowing scruffier experimental ventures to gain a foothold.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 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
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
![]()