ˈragə̇d adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from ragge rag + -ed
1. : roughly unkempt : shaggy
ragged sheep — John Dryden
ragged rust-colored hair — Willa Cather
2.
a. : having an irregular edge or broken outline : having sharp indentations, notches, or projections : jagged
a ragged wound
a ragged … shoreline — American Guide Series: Virginia
a ragged edge of corrugated iron — B.J.Haimes
almost choked … on a ragged bone — D.C.Allen
b. : raguly
c. : not flush : not justified : uneven — used of the ends of lines of text in printing
set left-hand margins flush, right-hand margins ragged
3.
a. : torn or worn to tatters : having the texture broken : tattered , frayed
a ragged flag
a ragged sail
discarded and ragged garments — Jack London
b. : almost exhausted from stress and strain : worn out
drove us ragged with questions that revealed the most fantastically confused sources of information — Verna C. Millan
— compare run ragged
4. : wearing tattered clothes
men ragged as the tramps, but going back to cold houses — Josephine Johnson
5.
a. : irregularly strung out : straggly
a ragged grove of palms — T.E.Lawrence
b. : executed or performed in an irregular, uneven, or uncoordinated manner : unpolished
a rambling, ragged … book — Times Literary Supplement
send up a ragged cheer — Arnold Hill
ragged play on defense — New York Times
c. of a sound : harsh , dissonant
a voice ragged with anxiety — Alan Sullivan
the engine sounded ragged — H.H.Arnold & I.C.Eaker
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- on the ragged edge