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Synonyms

unkempt

American  
[uhn-kempt] / ʌnˈkɛmpt /

adjective

  1. not combed.

    unkempt hair.

  2. uncared-for or neglected; disheveled; messy.

    unkempt clothes; an unkempt lawn.

  3. unpolished; rough; crude.

unkempt British  
/ ʌnˈkɛmpt /

adjective

  1. (of the hair) uncombed; dishevelled

  2. ungroomed; slovenly

    unkempt appearance

  3. archaic crude or coarse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • unkemptly adverb
  • unkemptness noun

Etymology

Origin of unkempt

1590–1600; variant of unkembed; un- 1, kempt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.