as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
a mangy old car that was covered in rust
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mangy
That also includes Leonard, a dapper old parrot who lives in the clinic, and Bitchy, a mangy, rangy alley cat who recently wandered into the office and took up residence.
—
Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 30 July 2025
His Orlok is more feral and red-blooded than previous iterations, appearing swathed in ursine furs and accompanied by mangy curs.
—Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Davis was more or less rocking his signature look — a red Adidas tracksuit, hair in mangy dreads.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
The father, in a black frock coat, cracked his whip at a mangy and irritated lion who eventually agreed to jump through a hoop.
—Rosanna Warren, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024
In several cases, the cloned dog’s appeal appeared to lie partly in physical problems or a difficult start in life: the dog found as a mangy stray or rescued from a kill shelter or a bad breeder; the needy dog or the purebred with a non-ideal characteristic.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
In front of us was a derelict baseball diamond and mangy grass fields.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 30 July 2025
His Orlok is more feral and red-blooded than previous iterations, appearing swathed in ursine furs and accompanied by mangy curs.
—Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Davis was more or less rocking his signature look — a red Adidas tracksuit, hair in mangy dreads.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
The father, in a black frock coat, cracked his whip at a mangy and irritated lion who eventually agreed to jump through a hoop.
—Rosanna Warren, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024
In several cases, the cloned dog’s appeal appeared to lie partly in physical problems or a difficult start in life: the dog found as a mangy stray or rescued from a kill shelter or a bad breeder; the needy dog or the purebred with a non-ideal characteristic.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
In front of us was a derelict baseball diamond and mangy grass fields.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mangy
Adjective
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Dayna is unemployed and newly single, and an out-of-the-blue opportunity to fix up a dilapidated mansion into an influencer house seems like her ticket to a new life.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
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Nearly two weeks after San Jose began dismantling its largest homeless encampment, the city is set to open its first-ever safe sleeping site, which will provide tents for dozens of the approximately 370 residents who have lived in dilapidated RVs and squalor at Columbus Park.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Same premise as the exterior, but even more important: Don’t buy a car with a neglected interior.—
Jimmy Camp,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
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Close the Loop Following through on commitments is the simplest and yet shockingly most neglected way to earn long-term trust.—
Serenity Gibbons,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
Adjective
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Marshall was soon welcomed into the scruffy jam band’s inner circle.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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Become a Subscriber That Caught Stealing echoes the scruffy, anything-goes atmosphere of Aronofsky’s earliest work gives it a sense of frenzied nostalgia.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mangy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mangy. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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