unkempt means uncombed, dishevelled. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 75 out of 100.
unkempt is pronounced /ˌʌnˈkɛmpt/.
Why “unkempt” is a great word
Having a messy, untidy, or neglected appearance, especially in one’s hair or general grooming. It comes from Middle English *unkempt* (“uncombed”), from the prefix *un-* (“not”) and *kembed* or *kempt*, the past participle of *kemben* (“to comb”). Unlike “dishevelled,” which suggests a temporary state of rumpled disorder, or “neat,” which denotes a condition of precise arrangement, “unkempt” speaks of a sustained, almost philosophical carelessness. It is the beard grown wild beyond fashion, the garden surrendered to bindweed and bramble, and the fencepost weathered to a silver-grey splinter—a quiet rebellion against the daily tyranny of the comb.
Etymology
From earlier unkembed, unkemmed, from Middle English unkempt (“uncombed”), equivalent to un- + kempt. Compare Old Norse úkembdr (uncombed; unkempt"; whence Icelandic ókembdur), German ungekämmt (“unkempt”), Dutch ongekamd. More at kemb.
adj
- uncombed, dishevelled.“He was a queer shoot, again, in his unkempt longish hair and slovenly clothes, a sort of very vulgar down-at-heel American in appearance.”
- Disorderly; untidy; messy; not kept up.“unkempt bedroom”
- Rough; unpolished.
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