as in dilapidated
not strong or stable and likely to break
rickety stairs a rickety old table
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Recent Examples of rickety
There was a sense of terminal decline or terminal corrosion about government post-COVID, with the government being really rickety, and then this new leader that didn’t have a huge amount of relative endorsement from the Party. . . .
—
Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2022
Some are too rickety to reliably relocate delicate bottles and glassware without fear of a smashup, others are bereft of functional features, and still others simply don’t look attractive enough to grace your living space.
—Rachel Klein, Popular Mechanics, 16 Sep. 2022
The underpinnings of the economy, however, still look rickety.
—Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 15 July 2022
Those who are old enough remember being afraid to ride the rickety wooden roller coaster.
—Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2022
Some are too rickety to reliably relocate delicate bottles and glassware without fear of a smashup, others are bereft of functional features, and still others simply don’t look attractive enough to grace your living space.
—Rachel Klein, Popular Mechanics, 16 Sep. 2022
The underpinnings of the economy, however, still look rickety.
—Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 15 July 2022
Those who are old enough remember being afraid to ride the rickety wooden roller coaster.
—Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rickety
Adjective
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On the show Hill would buy dilapidated homes, fix them up and sell them for a profit.—
Jennifer Sangalang,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
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The manager of a dilapidated building called the Workers’ Cultural Palace gives a speech about his plans for the space.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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Indeed, the Democratic Party has become a ramshackle, disheveled party and has given a new meaning to spontaneous combustion.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 May 2025
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Grand Tour is a little like these men and their machine: a deliberately ramshackle work made more captivating through its lack of conventional modes of propulsion and meaning.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rickety. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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