tatterdemalion
- noun
- /ˌtætərdɪˈmeɪliən/
- Archaic
:
harapiento
- She couldn't help but offer a warm meal to the tatterdemalion at her doorstep.
Examples
-
The children resembled tatterdemalions after playing all afternoon in the muddy fields.
-
A tatterdemalion wandered through the streets, his clothes torn and face smudged with dirt.
-
The little tatterdemalion played in the street.
-
I saw a tatterdemalion begging for food.
-
The tatterdemalion child played in the alley, his clothes torn and dirt smudged on his face.
-
As he walked down the street, people stared at the tatterdemalion figure with his mismatched and ragged attire.
-
The tatterdemalion girl scavenged for scraps in the park, her clothes hanging off her thin frame.
Synonyms
4
8.5
A child who wears old, torn, or dirty clothes
Antonyms
How Ragged
- Archaic
- Archaic
4
8.5
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tatterdemalion started as a name for someone in tatter 'rags', with a strange old ending that gave a clear picture of a poor, ragged person. That's why a tatterdemalion now means a person, often a child, wearing old, torn clothes.