as in tidy
being clean and in good order
a distinguished-looking gentleman with a kempt beard and an old-world manner
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Recent Examples of kempt
The creeping ivy of rap had crawled over their white picket fences, across their kempt green lawns, and around their Victorian homes, weakening the old walls between cultures.
—
Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023
The whole place is well kempt.
—Amanda Walker, al, 15 Aug. 2020
There was a whiff of mystery, a sense that something more was going on behind those well-kempt exteriors.
—Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 9 Feb. 2018
Silence your internal neat freak A well-kempt garden is the toad’s worst enemy.
—Molly Marquand, Good Housekeeping, 16 May 2017
A well-kempt courtyard for visitors conceals the prison’s overcrowding—stuffed to nine times its capacity with up to 250 women sharing a cell.
—National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2016
Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023
The whole place is well kempt.
—Amanda Walker, al, 15 Aug. 2020
There was a whiff of mystery, a sense that something more was going on behind those well-kempt exteriors.
—Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 9 Feb. 2018
Silence your internal neat freak A well-kempt garden is the toad’s worst enemy.
—Molly Marquand, Good Housekeeping, 16 May 2017
A well-kempt courtyard for visitors conceals the prison’s overcrowding—stuffed to nine times its capacity with up to 250 women sharing a cell.
—National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kempt
Adjective
-
The book resists tidy moral conclusions.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
-
That divide may look tidy on paper, but real life is messier.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
McGovern, who is thirty-nine, appeared in the courtroom looking trim, with a neat beard and the hint of a residual Emirati tan.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The reality is often messier and more iterative than any neat framework can capture.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Randolph mirrored Larter's edgy energy, sporting an oversized, rich brown leather jacket paired with a black silk skirt with lace trim.—
Danielle Minnetian,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
While some trees and shrubs can handle a little trim, many cannot this time of year.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kempt. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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