hang-dog

- 2 dictionary results

hang⋅dog

[hang-dawg, -dog]

–adjective

1.	browbeaten; defeated; intimidated; abject: He always went about with a hangdog look.

2.	shamefaced; guilty: He sneaked out of the room with a hangdog expression.

3.	suitable to a degraded or contemptible person; sneaky; furtive.

–noun

4.	Archaic. a degraded, contemptible person.

Origin:
1670–80; hang + dog

Synonyms:
2. ashamed, contrite, crestfallen.

Antonyms:
1. confident, assured.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

hang-dog

1677, "befitting a hang-dog," a despicable, degraded fellow, so called either from notion of being fit only to hang a dog, or to be hanged like one.

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