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Glite Dictionary
to look unkempt

to look unkempt

1 4.5
To seem messy because your clothes or hair are not neat
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : verse desaliñado
  • Her fingernails were painted bright orange and looked unkempt.

Examples

  • After missing his usual haircut appointment, he arrived at the party with a look unkempt appearance.

  • Despite his efforts, his hair always seemed to look unkempt after a long day at work.

  • It's it often times is it looks unkempt, you know what I mean?

  • So, for all those years, she had put up with the flimsy, impossible hair that always looked unkempt.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The braid looks unkempt, but in a totally casual and cool way!

    Blog text (1)

  • His skin isn't waxy anymore, his blue eyes are clear, his hair gleaming and just short enough to avoid looking unkempt.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • She felt embarrassed because her outfit made her look unkempt at the formal event.

Synonyms

to look as if she had been dragged through a hedge backwards
vsto look unkempt
  • UK
9.9

Seem very untidy and messy

is messy or untidy but not necessarily extremely disordered
to look like a dog's breakfast
vsto look unkempt
  • UK
9.9

Appear very messy and untidy

is untidy without implying complete disorganization
to look like a shitpot
vsto look unkempt
  • Offensive
9.9

Appear very messy and dirty with things everywhere

is messy in look but not always dirty or filthy
to look like a frump
vsto look unkempt
  • Offensive
8.5

To appear old-fashioned and messy in your clothes

is about untidiness of appearance rather than old-fashioned style
to be a frump
vsto look unkempt
  • Offensive
9.1

Dress or behave in a dull, old-fashioned way

focuses on appearance being messy rather than habitual unfashionable behavior

Antonyms

neat
144 1.0

Clean and tidy with things in order

well-groomed
9 3.5

Neat and tidy in appearance with clean clothes and neat hair

How Messy

bedraggled
4 7.0
disheveled
21 6.1
to look unkempt
1 4.5
scruffy
23 3.8

Surface Forms

look unkempt infinitive
looked unkempt past
looked unkempt past participle
looking unkempt present participle
looks unkempt third person singular

Morphology

look + unkempt

The meaning 'to appear messy or untidy' is directly derivable from combining 'look' (to appear) with 'unkempt' (lacking neatness). This is a straightforward verb + adjective predication following common cross-linguistic patterns, so a learner who knows both words would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Look unkempt comes from a simple picture: hair is not combed and clothes are not kept in order, so the person seems uncared for. That's why saying someone looks unkempt means they 'appear messy' or 'untidy'.