lexicow

unkempt

/ˌʌnˈkɛmpt//ˌʌnˈkɛmpt/·adjective
I watch a tidy head sit there with nobody to tend it. No comb ever comes. One strand sprouts and shoots off at its own careless angle, then another, then stubble pricks up along the jaw, until the neat round outline has lost its shape entirely and become a bristling, every-which-way mop. Nothing dirty has happened to it — only time, and no attention. One last sprig springs up after all the others, as if to make the point.
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Definition

Unkempt means untidy and uncared-for — hair uncombed, a beard left wild, a garden allowed to grow unruly. It points to neglect rather than dirt: nothing is necessarily filthy, just ungroomed and let go. The '-kempt' part is an old word for 'combed', now rarely used on its own. An unkempt appearance can be conspicuous in a formal setting and may quietly deter the very people you hope to impress.

Examples

  • He turned up for the interview unshaven and unkempt, his shirt half untucked.
  • The once-trim hedges were now unkempt, sprawling well past the line of the path.
  • Years of neglect had left the grand house unkempt and its gardens wild.

Collocations

unkempt hair·an unkempt appearance·an unkempt beard·an unkempt garden·look unkempt

Synonyms

dishevelled·untidy·messy·tousled·scruffy

Antonyms

neat·tidy·groomed·immaculate

In TOEFL & IELTS

A vivid descriptive adjective for people and places, stressing neglect, not filth. Spelling trap: it is unkempt, not the common misspelling 'unkept'. The bare word 'kempt' (tidy) survives mainly as a deliberate contrast.