scapigliato

dishevelled, unkempt

adjective skah-peel-YAH-toh Rare

Also means

bohemian (artistic movement)

Usage Note

Scapigliato literally means 'with dishevelled hair' (capelli = hair). Historically it names the Scapigliatura, a 19th-century Italian artistic and literary movement of bohemian rebels centred in Milan, opposed to bourgeois conformity. Today the adjective can still describe a literally dishevelled appearance or a loosely bohemian attitude. The feminine is scapigliata.

Examples

"Il poeta aveva un aspetto scapigliato e romantico."

Natural Translation

The poet had a dishevelled and romantic appearance.

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