shabby

adjective

shab·​by ˈsha-bē 

shabbier; shabbiest

1

: clothed with worn or seedy garments

a shabby hobo

2

a

: threadbare and faded from wear

a shabby sofa

b

: ill-kept : dilapidated

a shabby neighborhood

3

a

: mean, despicable, contemptible

must feel shabby … because of his compromises

—Nat Hentoff

b

: ungenerous, unfair

laments the shabby way in which this country often treated a poet

—Paul Engle

c

: inferior in quality

shabby reasoning

shabbily

ˈsha-bə-lē 

adverb

shabbiness

ˈsha-bē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• beat-up
• bombed-out
• dilapidated
• dog-eared
• down-at-the-heels
• down-at-heel
• down-at-the-heel
• down-at-heels
• dumpy
• grungy
• mangy
• mean
• miserable
• moth-eaten
• neglected
• ratty
• run-down
• scrubby
• scruffy
• seedy
• sleazy
• tacky
• tatterdemalion
• tatty
• threadbare
• timeworn
• tumbledown

Examples of shabby in a Sentence

The furniture was old and shabby.

He wore a shabby coat.

Her first apartment was pretty shabby.

They complained about the shabby treatment they received at the hotel.

Backing out of the deal was a shabby thing to do.

Recent Examples on the Web

The shabby Copy #64, also purchased in 1903 for $220 ($8,000 in today’s dollars). —Andrea Mays, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2024

Her personal grooming, hairstyle and clothing are very outdated and shabby. —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 8 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

obsolete English shab a low fellow

First Known Use

1669, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shabby

• not (too) shabby

Kids Definition

shabby

adjective

shab·​by ˈshab-ē 

shabbier; shabbiest

1

: dressed in worn clothes

2

a

: worn and faded from wear

a shabby sofa

b

: ill kept : dilapidated

shabby houses

3

: not fair or generous

shabby treatment

shabbily

ˈshab-ə-lē 

adverb

shabbiness

ˈshab-ē-nəs 

noun