as in sad
feeling unhappiness
"Why do you look so hangdog today?" she asked
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Recent Examples of hangdog
His Mickey is pleasantly mumbly, with a hangdog mien that’s often crosscut with a don’t-underestimate-me swagger.
—
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2022
Vic accepts his highly public and private humiliation with hangdog equanimity.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Mar. 2022
Segel earns some empathy as a hangdog Everyman, though his backstory remains such a deliberate blank that any insight is mostly gleaned from his blundering missteps and low-simmering misery.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2022
Another slip here is the casting of Effros in the lead role of Martin, a hangdog techie who travels from New York to Cape Cod to settle the estate of his late, estranged dad, Kenneth.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for hangdog
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2022
Vic accepts his highly public and private humiliation with hangdog equanimity.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Mar. 2022
Segel earns some empathy as a hangdog Everyman, though his backstory remains such a deliberate blank that any insight is mostly gleaned from his blundering missteps and low-simmering misery.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2022
Another slip here is the casting of Effros in the lead role of Martin, a hangdog techie who travels from New York to Cape Cod to settle the estate of his late, estranged dad, Kenneth.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for hangdog
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hangdog
Adjective
-
To many, this is a sad, depressing thought.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Shortly after the film begins, Jago returns home from the war alone with the sad news that Seamus has been killed.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And very plain and simple, just depressed.—
Scott Feinberg,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Nora Ephron for depressed perverts.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
For Adams’ Laura, its restorative properties are compromised by ever-present memories of her unhappy childhood, many of them directly associated with the family’s gorgeous summer house.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Competitive equity playoffs There’s still coaches unhappy with the Southern Section competitive equity playoff system using computer algorithms to place teams in divisions.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Community ‘heartbroken’ over sewage spill Philip Gray used to enjoy paddling down the river in a canoe or floating in an inner tube, beer in hand, toward his home in Cabin John.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The lyrics emanated from dramatic words and emotions expressed by owner Terry Pegula, football boss Brandon Beane and new head coach about their heartbroken hero.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Schaeffer acknowledged that the Rockies were bad at baserunning — and many other baseball basics — during Colorado’s miserable 119-loss season in 2025.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Frank Lampard, who returned for a second miserable stint as caretaker boss in 2023.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But Fennell is too fixated on the surface dazzle to undercut the mood with deeper melancholy or conflicted sexuality.—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Turner plays the middle brother with intriguing melancholy and an almost alien detachment, which works within the world this film creates, but not necessarily for a main character.—
David Opie,
IndieWire,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The dragon is said to scare away bad spirits and bring good luck.—
Staff report,
Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Weapon system autonomously detects and classifies moving targets The company revealed that the weapon system autonomously detects and classifies moving targets in poor visibility situations caused by darkness, bad weather, smoke or dust kicked up by helicopters.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Cathy’s, um, secretions Fennell’s tendency to shock us only lightly comes (sorry) into full effect when Cathy steals off to the moors to masturbate against a giant rock, overwhelmed by her feelings for Heathcliff.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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Liverpool’s sorry state Liverpool were sitting pretty for a short time at Anfield, driven in front by another epic strike from Szoboszlai (above).—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hangdog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hangdog. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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