kempt

[ kempt ]

adjective

1. neatly or tidily kept:

   a kempt little cottage.

2. combed, as hair.

kempt

/ kɛmpt /

adjective

1. (of hair) tidy; combed See also unkempt

Word History and Origins

Origin of kempt¹

First recorded before 1050; 1925–30 kempt fordef 1; Middle English kempte, kembyd; Old English cemd-, past participle of cemban “to comb”; comb, unkempt

Word History and Origins

Origin of kempt¹

C20: back formation from unkempt; originally past participle of dialect kemb to comb

Example Sentences

Comey, perfectly kempt in a suit jacket and collared shirt, accessorized with a grin.

From New York Times

It was swank, and packed with a diverse crowd of about 200 that skewed young — lots of beards, both kempt and unkempt, and beanies galore.

From Washington Post

Even less kempt, Walton Goggins gets to play an angry, avenging figure, given to oratory and mind games.

From New York Times

Perhaps not, she thinks, perhaps it is a personality phenomenon: the real Yolanda resurrecting on an August afternoon above the kempt green lawns of this private facility.

From Literature

As he wrote, “reality is always more complex than invention: less kempt, cruder, less rounded out”.

From Nature