01 a. Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail.
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1.
Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail.
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2.
Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as, ragged rocks.
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3.
Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant.[R.]
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4.
Wearing tattered clothes; as, a ragged fellow.
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5.
Rough; shaggy; rugged.“What shepherd owns those ragged sheep?” — Dryden.
Phrases & compounds
Ragged lady —
the fennel flower (Nigella Damascena).
Ragged robin —
a plant of the genus Lychnis (Lychnis Flos-cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers, which have the petals cut into narrow lobes.
Ragged sailor —
prince's feather (Polygonum orientale).
Ragged school —
a free school for poor children, where they are taught and in part fed; -- a name given at first because they came in their common clothing.