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vagrant Definition

va·grant (grənt)

noun

  1. a person who wanders from place to place or lives a wandering life; rover
  2. one who wanders from place to place without a regular job, supporting oneself by begging, etc.; idle wanderer; vagabond
  3. Law a tramp, beggar, prostitute, or similar idle or disorderly persons whose way of living makes them liable to arrest and detention

Etymology: ME vagraunt, prob. < Anglo-Fr wacrant, walcrant < OFr walcrer, to wander < Frank *walken (see walk): infl. prob. by L vagari, to wander

adjective

  1. wandering from place to place or living a wandering life; roaming; nomadic
  2. living the life of a vagabond or tramp
  3. of or characteristic of a vagrant
  4. characterized by straggling growth: said of plants
  5. following no fixed direction, course, or pattern; random, wayward, fleeting, erratic, etc.

vagrant Related Forms

va·grantly adverb

vagrant Synonyms

vagrant

modif.

  1. Having no home

    roaming, itinerant, nomadic, homeless; see traveling 2, wandering 1.

  2. Having no occupation

    begging, idling, unemployed, profligate, prodigal, loafing, beachcombing, mendicant, panhandling*, bumming*, mooching*.

  3. Having no fixed course

    wayward, capricious, erratic; see aimless, wandering 1. See syn. study at itinerant.

vagrant Synonyms

vagrant

n.

beggar, idler, loafer; see rascal, tramp 1. See syn. study at tramp.

vagrant Usage Examples

Possessives

  • block: A vagrants ' block lay along the roadside at the west, with a piggery situated to the south.
  • cell: There was an entrance block with vagrants ' cells toward the road at the east of the site.
  • accommodation: Part of the entrance block was used for vagrants ' accommodation with a characteristic row of cell windows at the rear.

Converse of object

  • include: Absolutely anything is possible here, including vagrants from the Caribbean and Bahamas, and whatever migrants are there will give wonderful views.
  • become: They have become vagrants, deprived of all status.
  • relieve: Mr Fane drew attention to the fact that the vagrants relieved during the last fortnight were 138, as against 79 last year.
  • know: I also found two island rarities and managed to catch up with all the known vagrants present on the island.

Adjective modifier

  • rare: The westerly Atlantic gales which assist rare North American vagrants to England now were also blowing in the Anglo-Saxon centuries.
  • other: Like other vagrants, this species is most likely to occur in autumn or winter.
  • eastern: The sun frequently shone during the two weeks and the birds were a mixture of western, southern and eastern vagrants.
  • American: The westerly Atlantic gales which assist rare North American vagrants to England now were also blowing in the Anglo-Saxon centuries.
  • female: Skipton former female vagrants ' ward, 2000. © Peter Higginbotham.
  • few: Nicely illustrated with over 3000 drawings on 142 color plates which cover all the species described apart from a few vagrants.

Modifies a noun

  • ward: In 1878, vagrant wards were added at each end of the front of the building's frontage.
  • species: I was surprised to find that it is possible for a vagrant species to be included in the list.
  • specie: In addition a number of vagrant species have ben recorded over the years.
  • bird: This vagrant bird has been reported on six occasions from Sussex during the 1980's.
  • visitor: There are more native species of bat in the UK -- 16 breeding and several vagrant visitors -- than any other group of mammals.
  • wader: It is also a good site for vagrant waders ( including, in recent years, Terek Sandpiper and Pectoral Sandpiper ).

Browse dictionary entries near vagrant

  1. vagrancy
  2. vagotropic
  3. vagotonia
  4. vagotomy
  5. vagodepressor
  6. vago-
  7. vagino-
  8. vaginitis
  9. vaginismus
  10. vaginate
  1. vagrom
  2. vague
  3. vaguely
  4. vagueness
  5. vagus
  6. vahine
  7. vail
  8. Vail, Alfred
  9. vain
  10. vainglorious