disheveled
adjective
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These days, the adjective disheveled is used to describe almost anything or anyone marked by disorder or disarray. Rumpled clothes, for example, often contribute to a disheveled appearance, as in Colson Whitehead’s novel Crook Manifesto, when the comedian Roscoe Pope walks onstage “disheveled, in wrinkled green corduroy pants.” Apartments, desks, bedsheets, you name it—all can be disheveled when not at their neatest and tidiest. Hair, however, is the most common noun to which disheveled is applied (along with hairdo terms like bun and beard), a fact that makes etymological sense. Disheveled comes from the Middle English adjective discheveled, meaning “bareheaded” or “with disordered hair.” That word is a partial translation of the Anglo-French word deschevelé, a combination of the prefix des- (“dis-“) and chevoil, meaning “hair.”
Examples of disheveled in a Sentence
Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
Irritants in the environment may also cause people to rub their eyes or touch their faces more frequently throughout the day, which can contribute to a more tired or disheveled appearance.
—Allison Forsyth, Health, 8 Apr. 2026
Magnus ran a hand through his disheveled mane of auburn hair, a chaotic halo framing his disbelief.
—Ben Mezrich, Vanity Fair, 6 Apr. 2026
Millions of golf fans expected to see Woods locked in and focused at Augusta in two weeks, not disheveled and disappointed in a mugshot from a Florida jail.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disheveled
Cite this Entry
“Disheveled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disheveled. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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