unkempt

• uncompt (obsolete)

From earlier unkembed, unkemmed, from Middle English unkempt (“uncombed”), equivalent to un- +‎ kempt. Compare Old Norse úkembdr (uncombed; unkempt"; > Icelandic ókembdur), German ungekämmt (“unkempt”), Dutch ongekamd. More at kemb.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˌʌnˈkɛmpt/

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• Rhymes: -ɛmpt
• Hyphenation: un‧kempt

unkempt (comparative more unkempt, superlative most unkempt)

1. (of hair) Uncombed; dishevelled.
   • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 289:

     Men on cycles, lean-faced, unkempt, scorched along every country lane, shouting of unhoped deliverance, shouting to gaunt, staring figures of despair.

2. (by extension) Disorderly; untidy; messy; not kept up.

   unkempt bedroom

3. (figurative) Rough; unpolished

• dishevelled
• slovenly

• James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Uncompt”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volumes X, Part 1 (Ti–U), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 95, column 1.