scruffy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈskɹaf.i/ (Australia)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈskɹʌf.i/ (UK, US)
Etymology
Etymology tree English scruff Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English scruffy From scruff + -y.
Meanings
-
Untidy in appearance; scrubby; shabby.
"So you wanna be a rock 'n roll star?!" screams the centerspread of a scruffy rag produced by the Boston activist group Rock Against Sexism (R.A.S.) Amid a jumbled collage picturing shaggy-headed, bare-chested, "fuckin' awesome" white guy rockers, photo captions tell us how to succeed at rock 'n roll.
1987 December 13, Elizabeth Pincus, “Rock Against Sexism”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 22, page 16:scruffy outfit
scruffy clothes
A scruffy little dog came scampering down the road.
scruffy man
And I will think of my father, sun-baked, scruffy and far from home, stalking the wilds of Clapham Common, saved from a dinner of roasted aesculin by people who knew the importance of making someone feel at home.
2025 December 24, Nell Frizzell, “When my father first came to the UK, people bonded and looked after him. Would that happen now?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2025:
- Scurfy.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| scruffier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| scruffiest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
scruffiness · scruffy chic · scruffily
Relateds
Translations (42)
fr débraillé (untidy in appearance) · de verdreckt (untidy in appearance) · ru нечёсаный (untidy in appearance) · bg мърляв (untidy in appearance) · gd robach (untidy in appearance) · pl niechlujny (untidy in appearance) · ru взъеро́шенный (untidy in appearance) · ca malgirbat (untidy in appearance) · it trasandato (untidy in appearance) · fi resuinen (untidy in appearance) · sv tilltufsad (untidy in appearance) · sh zapušten (untidy in appearance) · de verwahrlost (untidy in appearance) · es zarapastroso (untidy in appearance) · mi tātarahake (untidy in appearance) · mk ра́сфрлен (untidy in appearance) · mk ва́лкан (untidy in appearance) · es zarrapastroso (untidy in appearance) · es desaliñado (untidy in appearance) · sv ovårdad (untidy in appearance) · tr dağınık (untidy in appearance) · es zalapastroso (untidy in appearance) · fi nuhjuinen (untidy in appearance) · sv sjabbig (untidy in appearance) · mn хааш яаш (untidy in appearance) · de versifft (untidy in appearance) · sh neuredan (untidy in appearance) · mn заваан (untidy in appearance) · de heruntergekommen (untidy in appearance) · mi kōhangaweka (untidy in appearance) · mk не́чист (untidy in appearance) · ota پنتی (untidy in appearance) · hu pacuha (untidy in appearance) · fi epäsiisti (untidy in appearance) · ru неря́шливый (untidy in appearance) · mi pōrohe (untidy in appearance) · cmn 邋遢的 (untidy in appearance) · fr négligé (untidy in appearance) · fi rähjäinen (untidy in appearance) · pt desgrenhado (untidy in appearance) · ca malforjat (untidy in appearance) · mn ᠬᠠᠰᠢ ᠶᠠᠰᠢ ᠵᠠᠪᠠᠭᠠᠨ (untidy in appearance)