as in tidy
being clean and in good order
a distinguished-looking gentleman with a kempt beard and an old-world manner
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Recent Examples of kempt
The creeping ivy of rap had crawled over their white picket fences, across their kempt green lawns, and around their Victorian homes, weakening the old walls between cultures.
—
Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023
The whole place is well kempt.
—Amanda Walker, al, 15 Aug. 2020
Silence your internal neat freak A well-kempt garden is the toad’s worst enemy.
—Molly Marquand, Good Housekeeping, 16 May 2017
There was a whiff of mystery, a sense that something more was going on behind those well-kempt exteriors.
—Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 9 Feb. 2018
A well-kempt courtyard for visitors conceals the prison’s overcrowding—stuffed to nine times its capacity with up to 250 women sharing a cell.
—National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2016
Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023
The whole place is well kempt.
—Amanda Walker, al, 15 Aug. 2020
Silence your internal neat freak A well-kempt garden is the toad’s worst enemy.
—Molly Marquand, Good Housekeeping, 16 May 2017
There was a whiff of mystery, a sense that something more was going on behind those well-kempt exteriors.
—Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 9 Feb. 2018
A well-kempt courtyard for visitors conceals the prison’s overcrowding—stuffed to nine times its capacity with up to 250 women sharing a cell.
—National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kempt
Adjective
-
Two goals on his MLS debut against Montreal was a tidy start.—
Phil Hay,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
-
There were three fights in the first nine seconds, tidy one-on-one bouts.—
Louisa Thomas,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Her daughter, 33, also wore a look from the McQueen spring/summer 2025 collection, featuring a black vest with white pleated chiffon trim.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
People.com,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Her eyewear was usually cushioned by her coiffed blonde hair; her beauty aesthetic built intentionally around ‘notes on bangs’: From side-swept to feathery wisps, thick curtains, and a pixie fringed trim.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Twist in a neat midi knot or pin in a looser twist for a personalized style.—
Calin Van Paris,
Vogue,
18 Feb. 2025
-
But the neatest summation is probably that Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are returning to their natural places in the Bundesliga.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to kempt
Cite this Entry
“Kempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kempt. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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