: a despicable or miserable person
Synonyms
Adjective
- bad
- blue
- brokenhearted
- cast down
- crestfallen
- dejected
- depressed
- despondent
- disconsolate
- doleful
- down
- down in the mouth
- downcast
- downhearted
- droopy
- forlorn
- gloomy
- glum
- heartbroken
- heartsick
- heartsore
- heavyhearted
- inconsolable
- joyless
- low
- low-spirited
- melancholic
- melancholy
- miserable
- mournful
- sad
- saddened
- sorrowful
- sorry
- unhappy
- woebegone
- woeful
- wretched
Examples of hangdog in a Sentence
Adjective
He came home with a hangdog expression on his face.
“Why do you look so hangdog today?” she asked
Recent Examples on the Web
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2023
The man is Calum (Normal People's Paul Mescal), dangling on the cusp of 32, handsome in a hangdog way, with an arm in a cast and a big smile that can't entirely hide the distress that nips at his joy.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 9 Nov. 2022
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 June 2024
Photo: Cannes Film Festival This time, those hangdog eyes shine like little pools of predatory menace; the wide-open mouth, the slight forward hunch of the neck suggest a beast curious about its next meal.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hangdog 
Adjective
The Movie finds its titular alpha wolf Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) a teenager no more, but still struggling with the same hangdog loneliness.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2023
The man is Calum (Normal People's Paul Mescal), dangling on the cusp of 32, handsome in a hangdog way, with an arm in a cast and a big smile that can't entirely hide the distress that nips at his joy.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 9 Nov. 2022
Noun
Even the big producer, Joe Josephson, who can come off as a Hollywood hack with dollar signs for pupils, is brought a sense of hangdog appeal by Reg Rogers.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 June 2024
Photo: Cannes Film Festival This time, those hangdog eyes shine like little pools of predatory menace; the wide-open mouth, the slight forward hunch of the neck suggest a beast curious about its next meal.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hangdog
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hangdog.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hangdog.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangdog. Accessed 8 Sep. 2024.
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