British colloquial for someone or something that looks scruffy, unkempt, or a bit rough around the edges — thin and ragged rather than deliberately dishevelled. You might describe a scratty flat, a scratty outfit, or a scratty-looking stranger. It implies not quite dirty but definitely not put-together, with a slight edge of sympathy. Common in northern England and well understood across the UK.
She rolled in to the interview looking scratty, and spent the whole time picking at her sleeve.
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(colloquial, chiefly, UK) Thin, meagre; unkempt.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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