Rag·ged a.
1. Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail.
2. Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as, ragged rocks.
3. Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant. [R.] “A ragged noise of mirth.”
4. Wearing tattered clothes; as, a ragged fellow.
5. Rough; shaggy; rugged.
What shepherd owns those ragged sheep? --Dryden.
Ragged lady Bot., the fennel flower (Nigella Damascena).
Ragged robin Bot., a plant of the genus Lychnis (Lychnis Flos-cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers, which have the petals cut into narrow lobes.
Ragged sailor Bot., 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. [Eng.]
-- Rag*ged*ly, adv. -- Rag*ged*ness, n.
◄ ►
raggedly
adv 1: in a ragged uneven manner; "I took the cigarette he offered,
drawing at it raggedly" [syn: unevenly]
2: in a ragged irregular manner; "a stone wall trails raggedly
through the woods" [syn: stragglingly]
3: with a ragged and uneven appearance; "a long beard, raggedly
cut" [syn: jaggedly]