1
a
: a reclaimed wool from materials that are not felted that is of better quality and longer staple than mungo
b
: a fabric often of inferior quality manufactured wholly or partly from reclaimed wool
2
a
: inferior, imitative, or pretentious articles or matter
b
: pretentious vulgarity
shoddier; shoddiest
1
: made wholly or partly of shoddy
2
a
: cheaply imitative : vulgarly pretentious
shoddy merchandise
b
: hastily or poorly done : inferior
shoddy workmanship
c
: shabby, disreputable
shoddy business deals
Examples of shoddy in a Sentence
Adjective
They gave a shoddy performance.
shoddy merchandise that soon fell to pieces
Recent Examples on the Web
Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018
Only traditional organic feeds such as the shoddy are allowed
—Craig Ballinger, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
In Alabama, which is now part of America’s Tornado Alley because of the changing climate, the people least able to rebuild (and who live in shoddier homes that tend to sustain more damage) are likely to be poor and Black.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoddy
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Noun
Recycled pop bottles are made into carpets and seat linings, and cotton shoddy—used to make blue jeans—is recycled and turned into sound insulation.
—Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018
Only traditional organic feeds such as the shoddy are allowed
—Craig Ballinger, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017
Adjective
These ghosts, which take the form of their dead friends, are mostly just goofy, with the shoddy special effects and glowy auras giving the whole thing a distinctly Haunted Mansion vibe; critically, the threat never feels real, which undermines any tension.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
In Alabama, which is now part of America’s Tornado Alley because of the changing climate, the people least able to rebuild (and who live in shoddier homes that tend to sustain more damage) are likely to be poor and Black.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoddy
Cite this Entry
“Shoddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoddy. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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