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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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The grounds are scruffy, wiring and plumbing are outdated, the gymnasium air conditioning hasn’t worked in years.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
In the first, Lopez, wearing a crew-neck shirt, glasses and a scruffy beard, stands in his garage in front of a black Lamborghini.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
While core elements like electricity and running water are functioning, lifts and toilets remain covered in plastic wraps and are scruffy in appearance.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
She’s seen them too: the scruffy youngish guy who came in today with a pile of books as if it were a reading retreat.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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
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
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
I looked up into a pair of big black eyes and the scruffiest, fluffiest black-and- white face I’d ever seen.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Vocabulary lists containing scruffy
