An important adjective used to describe a person or animal with a scruffy, unkempt, dishevelled or slovenly appearance is desaliñado.
Latin American Pronunciation
European Pronunciation
It is made up of the negative prefix des- and the word aliñado, which means neat or well-groomed. Aliñado itself is derived from aliño, which comes from the Latin word linea, meaning thread or line. In other words, someone who is desaliñado isn’t orderly or in line.
Being an adjective, it also has the feminine form desaliñada and two plural forms: desaliñados (masculine) and desaliñadas (feminine).
- el perro desaliñado = the scruffy dog
- la persona desaliñada = the scruffy person
- los perros desaliñados = the scruffy dogs
- las personas desaliñadas = the scruffy people
Él llegó a la reunión con el cabello desaliñado y la ropa arrugada.
He arrived at the meeting with scruffy hair and wrinkled clothes.
The word is also the past participle of the verb desaliñar, meaning to make untidy or to mess up.
No quiero desaliñar mi atuendo con esos zapatos sucios.
I don’t want to mess up my outfit with those dirty shoes.
Some possible synonyms for this word include desaseado (unkempt), desarreglado (dishevelled), descompuesto (untidy) and desordenado (messy).
