Meaning & use
ragtag group
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Meanings
nouncountable
A group of people who are untidy, disorganized, or not respected, yet often work together effectively.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a ragtag group or several ragtag groups; the adjective ragtag usually comes before group, band, army, or crew.
Patterns
- a ragtag group of something
- a ragtag group of people
A ragtag group of volunteers turned the empty lot into a small park.
The film follows a ragtag group of students who start their own newspaper.
They arrived as a ragtag group in borrowed uniforms, but they played surprisingly well.
nouncountablefigurative
A mixed collection of things that do not match or belong together.
Grammar: Used about objects rather than people; often followed by of: a ragtag group of old tools.
Patterns
- a ragtag group of things
The shelf held a ragtag group of mugs, jars, and cracked plates.
Her notes were a ragtag group of lists and drawings on loose paper.
Word forms
| plural | ragtag groups |
|---|
Common combinations
- a ragtag group of volunteers
- A ragtag group of volunteers cleaned the beach every Saturday.
- a ragtag group of soldiers
- The general was given a ragtag group of soldiers and told to hold the bridge.
- a ragtag band
- They were a ragtag band, but their songs were full of energy.
- a ragtag collection
- The museum began as a ragtag collection of donated objects.
- a ragtag army
- The rebels formed a ragtag army from farmers and students.
Synonyms and how they differ
- motley
- Motley also describes a mixed, unmatched group, but it is more literary and can sound neutral or even admiring, while ragtag stresses poor equipment or low status.
- disorganized
- Disorganized simply means badly arranged or planned; it does not suggest the charm or determination that a ragtag group often has.
- makeshift
- Makeshift describes something used temporarily instead of the proper thing, so it fits a ragtag group only when their equipment or setup is improvised.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ragtag group or rag tag? ragtag group or rag-tag?
ragtag group vs rag tag
Learners sometimes write it as two separate words. The usual spelling is one word, ragtag, before a noun: a ragtag group.
ragtag group vs rag-tag
A hyphen is occasionally seen, but the standard modern spelling has no hyphen: ragtag.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'ragtag group' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'A ragtag group of neighbors' fits because ragtag describes an untidy but determined set of people doing something together. Option 1 is odd because ragtag suggests poor resources or low status, not experienced managers. Option 3 treats the phrase as a physical object, and option 4 uses it as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ragtag group”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.