unkempt

[uhn-kempt] /ʌnˈkɛmpt/

adjective

not combed:

unkempt hair.

uncared-for or neglected; disheveled; messy:

unkempt clothes; an unkempt lawn.

unpolished; rough; crude.

Origin

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

Related forms

unkemptly, adverb

unkemptness, noun

Examples from the web for unkempt

Our clothes were in rags, our appearance unkempt and forbidding.
Unlike the surrounding cow pastures, which are so well groomed they could be golf greens, these woods are unkempt.
His hair is long and unkempt, his face and body emaciated.
unkempt hair, yelling, and standing up and shaking their fists.
Now her hair is unkempt, glued to her face with sweat.
His hair, which is white, often hangs over his eyes in unkempt bangs.
He apologized for his unkempt appearance, and for his inability to offer me coffee or tea.
One reviewer lauds the hotel staff's southern hospitality, while another reviewer calls the place old and unkempt.
No one looks his or her best, with the actors often oddly unkempt and the cinematography unflattering and dim.
Staff furloughs and service cuts have meant less instruction time and unkempt facilities.

British Dictionary definitions for unkempt

unkempt

/ʌnˈkɛmpt/

adjective

(of the hair) uncombed; dishevelled

ungroomed; slovenly: unkempt appearance

(archaic) crude or coarse

Derived Forms

unkemptly, adverb
unkemptness, noun

Word Origin

Old English uncembed; from un-1 + cembed, past participle of cemban to comb; related to Old Saxon kembian, Old High German kemben to comb

Word Origin and History for unkempt

adj.

1570s, from un- (1) "not" + kempt "well-combed, neat," from variant past participle of Old English cemban "to comb," from Proto-Germanic *kambijan, from *kamb- "comb" (see comb). Form unkembed is recorded from late 14c. The verb kemb is rare after 1400s, but its negative past participle form endures.