as in sad
feeling unhappiness "Why do you look so hangdog today?" she asked

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of hangdog 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 Last year, for example, a player came into Brown’s office with a hangdog look on his face explaining his mom was pulling him out of the program. Richard A. Marini, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Feb. 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
  • Too much alcohol and your dreamy dessert turns into a sad, semi-frozen slush.
    Emily Price, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Her eyes are big and sad, and her index finger touches the tip of the nightstick hanging from the policeman’s belt.
    Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • Nike reported fourth-quarter financial results that slightly topped depressed revenue and earnings-per-share estimates, but the full-year picture reflects the brand’s struggles, as 12-month revenue fell 10% to $46.3 billion.
    Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 26 June 2025
  • What resonates most strongly is the film’s subtler or more emotional moments — the camera lingering on a man left holding a stick after his dog fails to come back from a swim or the scene where Brody’s son mimics his depressed father’s body language at the dinner table.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 20 June 2025
Adjective
  • This gives the creditor an additional target to pursue and make very unhappy which can indirectly put pressure on the debtor to pay the judgment.
    Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • Circulation increased and the publication won two Pulitzer Prizes, but the owner, conservative Harry Guggenheim, was unhappy with the paper’s shift to the left, and he and Moyers were divided over the Vietnam War and the 1968 presidential election.
    Carmel Dagan, Variety, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • And before long, his pig is stolen, leaving him heartbroken.
    Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
  • Once the game is over, pink soldiers approach Yong-sik to shoot him and ensure that he’s eliminated, despite Geum-ja’s heartbroken pleas.
    Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • As a result, couples may find themselves in a miserable situation.
    Mark Travers, CNBC, 29 June 2025
  • According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 19% of employees are miserable at work, and 60% feel emotionally detached.
    Sho Dewan, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • In this evocative, melancholy tale, an Italian champion racer is tasked with driving a car from Italy into Russia.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 June 2025
  • The commercial, as many may recall, features a montage of animal clips set to the melancholy ballad.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • Each show set off flurries of commentary — good and bad.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
  • Just recently the Wizards, whose only NBA championship was as the Bullets in 1979, had the second worst record this season only to miss out on the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes and slide to No.6 in the upcoming draft.
    Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • That, dear reader, is the sorry state of login security today.
    Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
  • The outburst inspired motherly glances from Adams and Jones, who regaled McAllister before with sorry tales of the past two decades.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 8 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hangdog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hangdog. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

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