Raggiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by being in a state of disrepair or worn to a ragged condition
2. Exhibiting features that are uneven, frayed, or shabby in appearance
3. Describing something that is unkempt, messy, or lacking in cleanliness and orderliness

Etymology: "Raggiest" is an inflected form, the superlative of "raggy," so the story belongs to its base. "Raggy" is built from "rag" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y," and the Middle English form "raggy" descends from Old English "raggiġ." The root "rag" has a surprising origin: in northern English dialect it named a fog or mist carrying drizzling rain, a sense linked to a Danish dialect word for sea vapour. The same kind of wet, ragged-edged haze, rather than cloth, seems to lie behind the word's first sense. From that weather sense, the adjective picked up the image of something that looks tattered and ragged, the way a sky or a garment might fray at its edges. The superlative "raggiest" then names whatever is most worn down or unkempt in a set.

Synonyms: tattiest, scruffiest, shabbiest, worst

Antonyms: neatest, tidiest, best, finest