How to Use unkempt in a Sentence

unkempt

adjective
Definition of unkemptnext
Synonyms for unkemptnext
  • She wore rumpled clothing and her hair was unkempt.
  • The rest of me might have been unkempt, but my hands were ready for the spotlight.
    — Alice Bradley, Redbook, 31 Jan. 2011
  • The salsa bar was unkempt and half-stocked, with no sneeze guard.
    — Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Dec. 2017
  • This wasn’t the first trip city officials had made to deal with the unkempt yard on Pinkney Lane.
    — Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021
  • His voice sounded like a high-pitched strain, and both times his hair had grown wild and unkempt.
    — Rion Amilcar Scott, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2019
  • To the untrained eye, Nash Prairie looks like an unkempt pasture.
    — Julia Rosen, The Atlantic, 25 July 2022
  • Not storms, rain, unkempt baseball fields and frozen turf.
    — Mike Hutton, Post-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2018
  • According to Spencer, many of the plots — raised beds in wooden frames — look unkempt in the winter.
    — Andrew Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Part of the hatred of leaf blowers stems from the fact that one’s lawn, like one’s life, always reverts to an unkempt state.
    — Linda Robertson, miamiherald, 25 May 2017
  • Jachles said the pool was unkempt, with algae growing in it.
    — Brooke Baitinger, Sun-Sentinel.com, 2 Sep. 2017
  • The department released three black-and-white sketches of the man's profile, all of which show a long beard and unkempt hair.
    — Nicholas Rondinone, courant.com, 11 Aug. 2017
  • His face is turned toward her but covered by unkempt brown hair.
    — Vogue, 24 Jan. 2019
  • Chowdhury was issued a $100 fine for the unkempt grass, even though Shibbir told The Washington Post that the grass has since been cleared up.
    — Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, 18 Jan. 2022
  • Customers in masks, chomping at the bit to get their unkempt mops tamed, lingered inside.
    — Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star, 11 May 2020
  • One that also includes a dirty toilet and an unkempt bed.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 13 July 2022
  • Shorter men, who often end up with sweaters that dangle well below the waistline, turn to the tuck to look less unkempt.
    — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2022
  • Davidson isn’t the perfect avatar of this unkempt, skate-forward moment in streetwear.
    — Kenzie Bryant, Vanities, 29 June 2018
  • The patients, most of them wearing dirty hospital smocks, were shuffling around the grounds, or sprawled in an unkempt yard.
    — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
  • From his perspective, the Turpin home was unkempt but quiet.
    — CBS News, 16 Jan. 2018
  • Apartments and condos will take the place of vacant or unkempt structures.
    — Monique O. Madan, miamiherald, 23 June 2017
  • Cruz, his hair unkempt, largely sat hunched over and stared at the table as the jury’s decisions were read.
    — Terry Spencer, ajc, 13 Oct. 2022
  • Pruning needs: If plants appear unkempt, cut to ground in early spring.
    — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, 6 Oct. 2017
  • The world of Francis Ford Coppola’s film is cloistered and unkempt.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 5 June 2020
  • The gardens are well groomed but not manicured, left alone in their unkempt beauty.
    — James McAuley, ELLE Decor, 20 Apr. 2022
  • Shor wears oval glasses, his belly is rotund, his hair is woolly and white, and his beard is unkempt.
    — Stephen Witt, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
  • Hallberg prefers to do the look on naturally full and unkempt brows but says those with sparse brows shouldn't feel turned away from the trend due to its focus on the hair.
    — Elizabeth Denton, Allure, 22 Mar. 2022
  • The house of the late Mr. Dulaimi is now abandoned and unkempt, with broken windows and painted warnings not to touch it.
    — Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2018
  • From there, a series of unkempt country roads dissolve to narrow dirt roads that connect to Dwar Imhail.
    — Ryley Graham, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2020
  • Shiny, dark green fronds grow into an unkempt mound reminiscent of Medusa's hair.
    — Savanna Bous, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Cruz, his hair unkempt, largely sat hunched over and stared at the table as the jury’s recommendations were read.
    — Terry Spencer, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unkempt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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