as in abandoned
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
She earns her living buying ramshackle homes, restoring them, and selling them at a profit.
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Recent Examples of ramshackle
The two manage to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, New York mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
—
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2025
Lee’s digging soon brings him face to face with Donald and grieving widow Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn), as Lee tries to get to the bottom of the city’s latest death (murder?), all while trying to keep his ramshackle business afloat.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 21 Sep. 2025
Refusing sculpture’s decorum, Noah Purifoy turns neighborhood rubble into Johnsian abstraction that predicts his ramshackle desert sculptures.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
But after decades of deferred maintenance, the building—an old Ford dealership—is falling apart like the ramshackle houses of the cowboys who populate McMurtry's books.
—John Burnett, NPR, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ramshackle
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2025
Lee’s digging soon brings him face to face with Donald and grieving widow Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn), as Lee tries to get to the bottom of the city’s latest death (murder?), all while trying to keep his ramshackle business afloat.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 21 Sep. 2025
Refusing sculpture’s decorum, Noah Purifoy turns neighborhood rubble into Johnsian abstraction that predicts his ramshackle desert sculptures.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
But after decades of deferred maintenance, the building—an old Ford dealership—is falling apart like the ramshackle houses of the cowboys who populate McMurtry's books.
—John Burnett, NPR, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ramshackle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ramshackle
Adjective
-
Thousands of abandoned and derelict vessels around the US pose environmental and navigational challenges.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
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The 33 towns being considered for this project, which are expected to meet final approval in the coming weeks, are all on the brink of extinction with the number of empty and abandoned houses outnumbering those that are inhabited.—
Barbie Latza Nadeau,
CNN,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Nick is a young father, struggling to make ends meet in his tumbledown home and feeding his family from foodbank donations.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
30 Aug. 2025
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Opened in 1935 as a barbecue market in a tumbledown former Lebanese grocery near the Fort Worth Stockyards, Joe T.’s now serves up to 2,000 diners at once across seven city blocks of dining and parking.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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Earlier this year, Saiz Bilbao arrived at a dilapidated building still under construction, its entrance via a seemingly endless stretch of stairs that led to a window-less hostel.—
Georgiana Ralphs,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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Now, charred and dilapidated buildings dot the small city center.—
NPR,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Everything looks so rickety — this stadium wasn’t built for pandemonium like this.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
15 Aug. 2025
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Griff's was a cozy space inside with a small, rickety wooden patio in the front and a larger one in the back.—
Brianna Griff,
Chron,
13 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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Repairs could include the replacement of deteriorated siding, windows, porches and flooring.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces is continuing its operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Gaza Strip, despite international outcry over the deteriorated humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ramshackle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ramshackle. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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