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to scraggle

to scraggle

8.8
To grow or spread in a thin, uneven, untidy way
  • verb
  • /ˈskræɡəl/
  • UK
translation icon : crecer de forma desordenada
  • Over time, the vines began to scraggle, spreading haphazardly across the trellis.

Examples

  • The old tree's branches scraggled out in various directions, creating a gnarled appearance.

  • The weeds scraggle along the edge of the garden, making it look unkempt.

  • They're not like city foxes that are all scraggling and trying to find food.

  • His beard scraggles.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

to spread out
vsto scraggle
89 2.8

To move apart and cover a wider area

implies thin uneven growth rather than simple movement apart
to sprawl
vsto scraggle
27 4.6

To spread out over a large area in an untidy way

focuses on thin uneven growth rather than wide untidy coverage
to straggle
vsto scraggle
8 6.4

To move slowly and get separated from the main group

means spreading thinly and unevenly rather than just irregularly
to strew
vsto scraggle
4 6.3

To spread things loosely and messily across an area

describes thin spreading growth rather than deliberate scattering of items
to ramify
vsto scraggle
  • Specialized
1 8.4

To spread out into many branches like a tree or its roots

is thin untidy spreading rather than organized branching expansion

Antonyms

35 2.3

Become or make something less runny

1 3.7

To make something tidy by arranging things in order

How Dense

to overgrow
2 4.4
to spread
664 1.6
to scraggle
  • UK
8.8
to grow
1.0
to sprout
68 2.0

Surface Forms

scraggle infinitive
scraggled past
scraggled past participle
scraggling present participle
scraggles third person singular

Morphology

scraggle = scrag (semi-transparent) = scrag + le

Formed from 'scrag' + '-le' with an extended meaning 'grow/spread thinly or unevenly'; the derivation is regular but the sense is specialized.

Etymology

Scraggle connects to scraggy ('uneven' or 'rough'), so when plants or hair 'scraggle' they grow or spread in a thin, untidy, and uneven way.