haggard

adjective

ˈha-gərd How to pronounce haggard (audio)
Definition of haggardnext
as in gaunt
suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease the rescued hiker appeared haggard and worn after a week in the woods

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of haggard No one’s going to want to watch a haggard perimenopausal woman who’s badly lit. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026 Now, the film is a downright classic, centering on three haggard witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) who go on a hilarious misadventure while trying to remain young forever. — Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025 In addition to skiing excursions, the winter sports menu includes such trying activities as snow shoe walking, ice diving, and dog sledding—great backdrops in front of which drunken or haggard travelers can snip at each other. — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2025 There’s a slight Francis Bacon aspect to them, poetic but at the same time incontrovertibly real, depicting every distorted limb, every haggard face and emaciated body, every wound and scar. — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for haggard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haggard
  1. gaunt
  2. skeletal
Adjective
  • As her pregnancy progressed, Kabita’s belly swelled while the rest of her remained gaunt.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • On the first day of the hearing, July 22, Salah Sarsour's brother, Mohammad Sarsour, testified that his brother appeared gaunt and dirty and complained of pain and inadequate medical care during his detention in an Israeli jail.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of gaunt
Adjective
  • Like trees that produce annual growth rings, corals add skeletal layers of calcium carbonate year after year.
    — Julia Cole, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Who’s flaunting their skeletal frame and who hides a bit behind a couture wall of feathers?
    — Marti Noxon, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of skeletal

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Cite this Entry

“Haggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haggard. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on haggard

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about haggard

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