kempt appearance
- noun
:
apariencia cuidada
- She always maintains a kempt appearance at work.
Examples
-
His kempt appearance made a great first impression at the job interview.
-
Even after a long flight, her kempt appearance impressed her colleagues.
-
A kempt appearance is valued in many professional settings.
-
His kempt appearance impressed the interviewers.
-
After spending time at the salon, she left with a beautiful kempt appearance that turned heads.
-
His kempt appearance made him stand out among his friends who were dressed casually.
-
She always takes the time to ensure her hair is styled for a polished and kempt appearance.
Synonyms
1
3.9
A smooth, neat, and stylish appearance that looks well dressed
1
4.4
A neat, elegant appearance that shows attention to detail
1
3.5
A smooth, shiny, stylish appearance for hair or clothes
A neat, smart appearance in the way a person dresses or a place is kept
Clothes and hair that are neat and clean
A neat, smooth appearance that seems expensive
Antonyms
How Neat
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'kempt' (neat, well-groomed) directly modifies 'appearance' (outward look), so the combined meaning 'a neat or well-groomed look' is transparently compositional. This simple adjective + noun pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Kempt appearance may come from an old word meaning 'to comb', so picture someone carefully combing their hair until everything lies smooth. That's why kempt appearance now means a 'neat' or 'well-groomed' look.