straggle
Drift from group
To straggle is to trail behind or spread out irregularly from a group.
Hikers straggle along a trail when they fall out of formation: A few stragglers were still coming in an hour after the main group arrived.
Hair or plants straggle when they grow in untidy, scattered directions: Weeds straggled through the cracked pavement.
The word suggests disorder and unevenness rather than deliberate spacing.
Excessively covered in vegetation
- unkemptUntidy in appearance
- scragglyIrregularly sparse and messy
- wispyThin and insubstantial
- tangledTwisted confusedly together
unruly · wild · wayward · spindly · lanky · rangy · sprawling · creeping
Following behind something
- dawdlingLeisurely time-wasting
- lingeringRemaining beyond expected duration
- loiteringPurposeless public lingering
- tarryingRemaining beyond expected time
falling behind · dragging · meandering · wandering · drifting · straying · lagging · plodding
Spread irregularly about
- spread outExtended over distance
- strewnSpread irregularly about
- dispersedSpread widely apart
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
irregular · patchy · uneven · random · haphazard · disorganized · sprawling · intermittent
overgrown
Excessively covered in vegetation
tangled · unruly · wild · wayward · spindly · lanky · rangy · sprawling · creeping · trailing
trailing
Following behind something
- dawdlingLeisurely time-wasting
- lingeringRemaining beyond expected duration
- loiteringPurposeless public lingering
falling behind · tarrying · dragging · meandering · wandering · drifting · straying · lagging · plodding · shuffling
scattered
Spread irregularly about
- spread outExtended over distance
- strewnSpread irregularly about
- dispersedSpread widely apart
sparse · irregular · patchy · uneven · random · haphazard · disorganized · sprawling · intermittent · sporadic
rear
Back portion or raise
- tail endConcluding portion
- dropoutsPeople who leave early
- latecomersThose arriving past time
hangers-on · followers · laggards · remnants · survivors · strays · deserters · wanderers · drifters · leftover
stragglemarch
Rhythmic group walk
stay together · close ranks · cluster · group · assemble
straggly, straggler, stragglers, straggling, straggled, straggles, stragglier