disheveled

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 8, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>disheveled</strong> &#149; \dih-SHEV-uld\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Disheveled</em> means "marked by disorder or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disarray">disarray</a>."</p> <p>// His hair <em>disheveled</em> and his clothes wrinkled, the late student had clearly overslept.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disheveled">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"I'm a realist. … I know what I see. And what I see is a team that's somewhat <em>disheveled</em>. And that's on me. Somehow, … I do not have the ability at this point in time to affect my players to make sure that we're in a better place mentally and physically, to play the kind of basketball we need to play." — Geno Auriemma, quoted in <em>ESPN</em>, 9 Dec. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Disheveled</em> comes from Middle English <em>discheveled</em>, meaning "bareheaded" or "with disordered hair." That word is partially based on Anglo-French <em>deschevelé</em>, a combination of the prefix <em>des-</em> (<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dis-#h5">"dis-"</a>) and <em>chevoil</em> ("hair"). In English, <em>disheveled</em> describes things other than hair that have a messy or untidy appearance.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>