dishevelling

The wind makes a chaos of their red-brown stems, dishevelling them as if to test their pliability, in spite of a protective hedge around each bed, of dogwood, maple, elm or ash.

Wildwood Roger Deakin 2009

The wind makes a chaos of their red-brown stems, dishevelling them as if to test their pliability, in spite of a protective hedge around each bed, of dogwood, maple, elm or ash.

Wildwood Roger Deakin 2009

His right hand went to the dishevelled hair, dishevelling it further.

In the Presence of the Enemy George, Elizabeth 1996

As they descended the stairs, Lord Pomfret emerged from the library, cramming cigarettes into his case with the dishevelling manipulation of the belated swain.

Anthony Lyveden Dornford Yates 1922

That interior was singularly restful, pleasant, after the confused and dishevelling night.

The Three Black Pennys A Novel Joseph Hergesheimer 1917

A loosened curl had fallen over her forehead, giving to the severity of her dress, copied from that portrait of her father, a dishevelling touch, as though a young lady were suddenly discovered to be a gipsy in an evil frame of mind.

The Misses Mallett The Bridge Dividing 1914

But, if the bone be too hard, if the prize suspended be a Mole, an adult Mouse or a Sparrow, the wire ligament opposes an insurmountable obstacle to the attempts of the Necrophori, who, for nearly a week, work at the hanging body, partly stripping it of fur or feather and dishevelling it until it forms a lamentable object, and at last abandon it when desiccation sets in.

The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

It was an _embarras de richesses_ rarely met with; and in the rich and precious braids the ivory fingers were clutched, dishevelling them, tearing at them, in the excess of pain.

Dr. Dumany's Wife M��r J��kai 1864

So dearly do we love our own voice that we cannot bear to hear it mixed with that of others -- perhaps drowned; and then our bashfulness tongue-ties us in the hush expectant of our "golden opinions," when all eyes are turned to the speechless "old man eloquent," and you might hear a tangle dishevelling itself in Neæra's hair.

Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2 John Wilson 1819

a simply furnished bedroom, and though dust lay thick upon every article, there was a certain neatness about the character and arrangement of the furniture which defied the dishevelling results of neglect.

The Black Edgar Wallace 1903