bedraggled

adjective

be·​drag·​gled bi-ˈdra-gəld 

bē-

1

: soiled and stained by or as if by trailing in mud

2

: left wet and limp by or as if by rain

3

: dilapidated

bedraggled buildings

Synonyms

• awash
• bathed
• doused
• dowsed
• drenched
• dripping
• logged
• saturate
• saturated
• soaked
• soaking
• sodden
• soggy
• sopping
• soppy
• soused
• washed
• water-soaked
• watered
• waterlogged
• watery
• wet

Examples of bedraggled in a Sentence

She was bedraggled and exhausted.

the cat looked rather funny, all bedraggled and fit to be tied after her bath

Recent Examples on the Web

But at least for the moment, some players and some newfound nimbleness have an old order looking a little less bedraggled and besieged. —Alan Blinder, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2022

Bradley Cooper’s character in this psychological thriller is a bedraggled writer whose career and personal life are languishing until a friend slips him a new psychotropic medication called NZT. —Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2011

Hawkins is aged up, and appears bedraggled, hard-pressed for some good luck. —Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2022

Only a bedraggled group of compliant survivors remained in the White House, and their numbers diminished by the day. —Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, 6 Jan. 2021

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of bedraggle

First Known Use

circa 1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bedraggled

adjective

be·​drag·​gled bi-ˈdrag-əld 

: limp, soggy, or dirty from or as if from rain or mud