raggedy
Worn out, torn up, or looking rough.
Also called ragged, beat-up.
Updated September 24, 2026
raggedy pronunciation
/RAG-uh-dee/
Meaning
Beat-up and falling apart. A raggedy shirt has holes. A raggedy truck barely makes it to town. Can cover clothes, tools, yards, and people who look like they slept in a ditch. Not fancy ragged. Just plain used-hard Southern talk for something that needs replacing or a wash.
How folks use it
- “Throw that raggedy shirt in the rag bin.”
- “He's still driving that raggedy old pickup.”
Origin and etymology
U.S. Southern form from the mid-1800s, built on ragged plus -y. Etymology sources date it around 1845. The Raggedy Ann doll later borrowed the same worn-soft sound for a rag doll name. The word spread wider but still sounds at home in rural Southern mouths.