Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Shamefaced or guilty.
  • adjective Downcast; intimidated.
  • noun A sneaky or despicable person.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A degraded and sneaking fellow, fit only to be a hangman of dogs.
  • Of or pertaining to such a person; having a base or sneaking appearance: as, a hangdog look or gait.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Low; sneaking; ashamed.
  • noun A base, degraded person; a sneak; a gallows bird.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A base, degraded person; a sneak; a gallows bird.
  • adjective Low; sneaking; ashamed.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective frightened into submission or compliance
  • adjective showing a sense of guilt

Etymologies

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Examples

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  • "BLOOM (Shuddering, shrinking, joins his hands with hangdog mien.)"

    Joyce, Ulysses, 15

    February 8, 2007

  • But paying through the nose was not the worst of it; for I had the vexation to perceive, that while I was counting over the cost, this hang-dog was chuckling at the recollection of the night before.

    - Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 1 ch. 2

    September 12, 2008

  • "A degraded and sneaking fellow, fit only to be a hangman of dogs."

    --Cent. Dict.

    August 14, 2012