1
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
some ratty old magazines were the only reading material in the mountaintop cabin
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tattered
worn or torn into or as if into rags
can I use this ratty old T-shirt to wipe up some paint?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
I get pretty ratty after hours of dealing with demanding customers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a ratty way to treat an old friend who's fallen on hard times
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ratty
Chicago has developed a reputation as one of America’s rattiest cities, with one pest control company ranking it first for the last nine years.
—
Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
Last year, Los Angeles was the second rattiest city in the United States, according to a report by pest control company Orkin.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
Despite the occasional frozen screen glitches and folks joining calls in their ratty pajamas, there are upsides.
—John Daley, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025
In 2024, Los Angeles was the second rattiest city in America, according to a report by pest control company Orkin.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ratty
Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
Last year, Los Angeles was the second rattiest city in the United States, according to a report by pest control company Orkin.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
Despite the occasional frozen screen glitches and folks joining calls in their ratty pajamas, there are upsides.
—John Daley, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025
In 2024, Los Angeles was the second rattiest city in America, according to a report by pest control company Orkin.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ratty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratty
Adjective
-
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
-
Nearly every panel of the shoe is tattered and torn, including a heel seam that’s coming undone and reveals the inner cork components of the shoe.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
30 Oct. 2025
-
By the end of the summer my catalogs were tattered and worn.—
Neil Sperry,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Most cases clear up on their own without complications, but parents should contact a doctor if a child cannot keep fluids down, has a high fever lasting more than a few days or seems unusually drowsy or irritable.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Also known as irritable hip, the condition is due to inflammation of the hip joint lining.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The flowers are the best, even if the leaves are lame and flop over.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 Oct. 2025
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Cut to Culhane doing lame bits with chopsticks as walrus teeth.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Few sights are as heart-wrenching as a neglected animal in need.—
Allison Moses,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
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Those plans were later abandoned during the pandemic and the house joined Denver’s neglected and derelict building list in 2024.—
Justin Wingerter,
Denver Post,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
My breath is nervous and ragged but my will determined.—
Vanita Salisbury,
AFAR Media,
6 Nov. 2025
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The result is a ragged primal scream of a film — not a cry for help, but rather, a bellow of maternal rage.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Chinese retailer, known for its range of cheap ultra-fast-fashion clothing and criticisms of its labor and environmental practices, is nestled on the sixth floor of a more than century-old building in Paris, a city famous for high-end fashion and a recent green push.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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The other side of this has been the money in the industry’s pivot first to cheaper talk shows, which don’t innovate enough to merit much critique, and now to a second pivot to turn those interview shows into video series, which makes podcasts more friendly on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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By the years of the Great Depression, the clown came to represent the faded glory of the circus and reflected the weariness felt by so many Americans in crisis.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Scherzinger’s only familiarity with the material was Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, which starred Gloria Swanson as a faded beauty of the silent era hell-bent on a return to relevance.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ratty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratty. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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