as in sad
feeling unhappiness
"Why do you look so hangdog today?" she asked
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
-
The first half of the Rockies’ 2025 season was miserable, and that’s an understatement.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
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
-
After several months of strong economic news but incredibly weak consumer sentiment, America is starting to see those trends reverse: The vibes are on the rebound, but evidence is mounting that the economy is getting worse.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
28 June 2025
-
Overall, the recent western drought was at its worst in late 2021, when nearly 94% of the West was in drought, before easing in 2023-24.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
Adjective
-
Even savvy healthcare consumers – aka patients – will have a hard time reining in healthcare spending in the face of physicians preaching an ethic of better safe than sorry.—
Peter Ubel,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
-
There will be no combustion engine on board—sorry, V-8 fans—with all the power required to run the control and motion systems for the foils, the keel and rudder, and the onboard computers and instruments generated autonomously while under sail.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hangdog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hangdog. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share