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 As Derya and Aziz’s hypocrisies, as upper-class intellectuals, are increasingly brought to the fore, Namal and Biçer’s conversational performances grow haggard and strained. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for haggard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haggard
  1. gaunt
  2. skeletal
Adjective
  • The group last played a public show on July 18 in Valdosta, Georgia, following an uneven few months where Love appeared gaunt and sang in a raspy, diminished voice.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Apple was widely criticized in the late 2000s for not volunteering more information about Jobs’ health, especially as concerns about his gaunt appearance battered the company’s shares.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of gaunt
Adjective
  • But the archaeologists who excavated the new skeletal fragments from Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of Iraq say the fossils weave a complex tale of Neanderthal life and death, beyond what appeared to be deliberate violence.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Leon has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, skeletal dysplasia and microcephaly.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 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 20 Oct. 2026.

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