How to Use dishevel in a Sentence

dishevel

verb
  • Hawkins was on one end of the video call, shirtless and with his hair disheveled.
    Bill Landis, cleveland.com, 27 Oct. 2017
  • The unit was disheveled with furniture moved about and items on the floor.
    cleveland, 18 Apr. 2020
  • Shown with a gun in hand and looking disheveled, Creasy seems like he’s been through hell and back.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
  • The drunken woman was not wearing shoes, had an empty purse and her hair was disheveled.
    Andy Attina / Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, 20 Apr. 2018
  • She is brought to the ground as her clothing becomes disheveled during the struggle.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
  • If Newsom has been spotted disheveled in public, show me the proof.
    Maya Singer, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The unit was disheveled, with feces, either from the dog or a human, seen throughout the floor.
    cleveland, 28 Sep. 2019
  • Its stem is often broken, its pedals disheveled and falling off.
    Christina Capatides, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2019
  • Epstein, looking disheveled in a navy blue jumpsuit, pleaded not guilty.
    Ali Watkins, BostonGlobe.com, 8 July 2019
  • The third trailer had a broken lock and its interior was disheveled.
    cleveland, 25 Oct. 2019
  • As for the sweatpants, the wide-leg silhouette is roomy but not disheveled, and the drawstring waist is easy to adjust.
    Shea Simmons, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Police shared a mug shot of Catledge alongside the post, in which he could be seen in a gray shirt and appeared to be disheveled.
    Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • When her mother returned, the then 9-year-old child was upset and her Easter dress disheveled.
    Washington Post, 3 May 2018
  • The offbeat styling had tights and leggings worn as pants, and the hair deliberately disheveled.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2023
  • That was thrilling for us, because that disheveled scraggly look totally became who Vince was.
    Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
  • While the mother was inside, her daughter came home crying and disheveled with leaves and dirt on her, according to the report.
    Krista Torralva, OrlandoSentinel.com, 15 Aug. 2017
  • Boots were made to look deliberately disheveled, with tiny ladybirds across them.
    ABC News, 24 June 2026
  • His hair, which had been neatly trimmed for a court appearance several months ago, was darker and disheveled, his face bearded.
    Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Joseph appeared in a striped prison uniform for his hearing on Tuesday morning, with his hair disheveled and beard unkempt.
    Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 31 Mar. 2026
  • And Aidan, his hair disheveled, the only boy wearing sweatpants at the presentation, just shrugged.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Mar. 2018
  • College football is in chaos, its clothes disheveled, shirttail out, shoes expensive, Italian-made, but scuffed.
    Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2025
  • Sturch said Columbo is not as disheveled in the theater version as Falk later presented him.
    Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Observers used to spot him carefully disheveling his (incurably straight) blond hair for extra daffiness.
    Kyle Smith, National Review, 19 July 2019
  • Hair disheveled, a dazed and bewildered look in his eyes, the coach trudged into his own dressing room to regroup and get a rundown of a growing list of injuries.
    Mike Jones, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • In fact, most people enjoy the meal in their pajamas, looking expectedly disheveled.
    Nadeem Muaddi, CNN, 26 May 2018
  • In preparing for the audition, Spacek claims to have deliberately arrived to read for the role all disheveled.
    Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Police checked on a man who was reportedly knocking on doors in a residential area and appeared to be disheveled and disoriented.
    oregonlive.com, 1 July 2019
  • Longtime Cara Delevingne fans were alarmed when late last year, photos and videos of the model looking disheveled at an airport circled online.
    Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 Mar. 2023
  • Kapoor, who was arrested earlier Thursday, entered court in basketball shorts, tennis shoes and a T-shirt, his long, gray hair disheveled.
    Anita Snow, USA TODAY, 27 Oct. 2017
  • These evocative, volcanic islands, cast adrift off the northeast coast of Sicily, remain salted, fresh, and gloriously disheveled.
    Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dishevel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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