scruffier; scruffiest
Synonyms of scruffynext
: unkempt, slovenly, shaggy
a scruffy neighborhood
a scruffy beard
scruffily adverb
scruffiness noun

Examples of scruffy in a Sentence

The neighborhood is full of dilapidated houses with scruffy backyards. dressed in scruffy old clothes to clean out the garage
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
My parents rented a scruffy one-bedroom apartment overlooking a park in the Fillmore District. Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026 The scruffy ambience along Washington did not help the hotel’s appeal or its ability to fill its retail shops. Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2026 The new auteurs of the 1990s reflected a broader shift in tone across the culture toward something scruffier and more disillusioned—the cinematic equivalent of Nirvana on the radio and Marc Jacobs’s Perry Ellis grunge collection on the runway. Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026 Cast your mind back to summer 2019, a pre-Covid era when we were all hooked on Euphoria season one and the high school exploits of protagonist Rue, played by a scruffy Zendaya, all basketball shorts and tangled hair. Olivia Allen, Vogue, 17 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scruffy

Word History

Etymology

scruff, metathetic variant of scurf (also with senses "something worthless or contemptible, contemptible person") + -y entry 1

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scruffy was in 1871

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scruffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scruffy. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

scruffy

adjective
scruffier; scruffiest
: dirty or shabby in appearance
a scruffy beard

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