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Examples of ragtag in a Sentence
a ragtag group of musicians
the team was a ragtag bunch who had only one thing in common: a lack of skill
Recent Examples of ragtag from the Web
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Stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt assemble a ragtag team to bring down a casino — and win back Clooney's ex, Julia Roberts.
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Oh, never mind: at least Jon has assembled a ragtag team of all-star misfits with which to do his zombie hunting.
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Oh, never mind: at least Jon has assembled a ragtag team of all-star misfits with which to do his zombie hunting.
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In his six short months, 45 and his ragtag crew of incompetents have racked up more truly cinematic plot twists, jump-scares, and inadvertent punchlines than most of their predecessors combined.
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Homecoming is well-meaning and downright loving, with its sweet-natured hero, its ragtag group of cheery kids, its portrait of an avuncular Tony Stark all projecting a radiant optimism.
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Nevertheless, Ahab exacts total obedience from his ragtag men, with one exception: his prudent first mate, Starbuck (the superb Kareem Bandealy), who though firm and unyielding to his last breath is nevertheless undone by Ahab's preternatural fury.
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She is unexpectedly aided by a ragtag guerrilla group called the Animal Liberation Front, headed by its spacey activist, Jay (Paul Dano).
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On the street style front, the singer Soko showed up with a ragtag group of dudes all donning dresses last year at Paris Fashion Week.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ragtag.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Breaking Down ragtag
Tag and rag was a relatively common expression in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it was often used pejoratively to refer to members of the lower classes of society. By the 18th century, the phrase had been expanded to "rag, tag and bobtail." That expression could mean either "the lower classes" or "the entire lot of something" (as opposed to just the more desirable parts - the entire unit of an army, for example, not just its more capable soldiers). Something described as "ragtag and bobtail," then, was usually common and unspectacular. "Ragtag and bobtail" was eventually shortened to "ragtag," the adjective we know today, which can describe an odd mixture that is often hastily assembled or second-rate.
Origin and Etymology of ragtag
ragtag Synonyms
Synonyms
assorted, eclectic, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, kitchen-sink, magpie, mixed, motley, patchwork, piebald, promiscuous, raggle-taggle, miscellaneous, variedAntonyms
homogeneousRelated Words
manifold, multifarious; multiple, multiplex, myriad; disparate, divergent, diverse, sundry, various; chaotic, cluttered, confused, disarranged, disarrayed, disheveled (or dishevelled), disordered, farraginous, jumbled, littered, messed, messy, muddled; amalgamated, blended, combined, commingled, commixed, conglomerated, fused, incorporated, intermingled, intermixed, merged, mingled; composite, conglomerate, hybrid; unclassified, unsortedNear Antonyms
monolithic, uniform; alike, identical, like, same; distinct, distinctive, individual, separateRAGTAG Defined for English Language Learners
ragtag
play
adjective
Definition of ragtag for English Language Learners
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: made up of different people or things and not organized or put together well
RAGTAG Defined for Kids
ragtag
play
adjective
rag·tag
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ˈrag-ˌtag
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Definition of ragtag for Students
:not well organized or put together
The ragtag team somehow won the game.
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