If a person, an animal, or a place looks scruffy, they look messy and a bit dirty — not dressed up, not brushed, not tidy. Hair sticks out. Clothes are old, creased, or not quite clean. A scruffy café has scuffed chairs and a sticky menu. People often say it about looks, not about a deep kind of dirt: a much-loved jumper can be scruffy and still fine to wear at home. It is informal, and it is usually a little unkind if you say it about a person you do not know well, though friends use it lightly. It is not a swear word, and it is not as strong as filthy. Older speakers and British speakers use it a lot; you will also hear scruffy trainers, a scruffy beard, a scruffy student flat. Though actually, looking scruffy on purpose (old jeans, messy hair) is sometimes a style, not an accident.