scruffy

Preposition: in

• appearance: They were both quite scruffy in appearance - perhaps to blend in with the assumed appearance of shoplifters.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

• look: I tend to leave it be and it ends up looking a bit scruffy.

Modifies a noun

• jean: Don't go overboard, but don't turn up on your date in scruffy jeans and T-shirt either.
• clothes: Back then, it was basic, down-to-earth photographs, taken in scruffy clothes or backstage changing rooms.
• hair: He would have a low opinion of my scruffy hair.
• kid: Not bad for three scruffy kids from a north western satellite town.
• dog: Small dogs, scruffy dogs, Big dogs, fluffy dogs.
• appearance: He said one man was smartly dressed in a blue suit, and the other was of a scruffy appearance.

Modifying Another Word

• slightly: His clothes are, if anything, slightly scruffy.
• rather: A rather scruffy looking Wesley Kerr then sniffed his was a location " far too grand to be on any Monopoly board.
• quite: We know ' cause we're quite scruffy ourselves!
• too: I rarely got any and when I did they were usually too scruffy to return to the shelves.
• very: Some very scruffy travelers were enjoying a beer in the last of the afternoon sun.
• not: Attend our seminar Prepare for the Fair here at the Careers Service Dress can be formal or smart casual - not scruffy!

Used with adjective complement

• look: The reason for going for the quality option is mostly for comfort, but also because cheaper clothes can look scruffy very quickly.