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
And third, after years of gerrymandering and Republican consolidation of power, the Democratic turnout machine is exceedingly rickety.
—
Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
They will now be soldered together to form a financially rickety public hospital system.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026
Along those lines, the rickety regional sports network model certainly is a concern, especially with the Giants owning a chunk of NBC Sports Bay Area.
—Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
The result was a gleaming skyscraper held up by some rickety wooden boards, duct tape, and magic.
—Ian Stokes, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
They will now be soldered together to form a financially rickety public hospital system.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026
Along those lines, the rickety regional sports network model certainly is a concern, especially with the Giants owning a chunk of NBC Sports Bay Area.
—Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
The result was a gleaming skyscraper held up by some rickety wooden boards, duct tape, and magic.
—Ian Stokes, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rickety
Adjective
-
The city announced the move to the East Village in March, as part of the plan to close the dilapidated and sometimes violence-prone 30th Street center.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
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Its dilapidated state and lack of funding — just $25,000 was budgeted for programming by the city last year — prevents the facility from offering a full slate of services for residents.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
If the several buildings the report says Taxpayer 1 was delinquent on taxes included, say, a bar or ramshackle eyesores, that will look like something other than Stewart extending kindness to a stranger.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
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At last official count last year, the population in this hodgepodge of industrial plants, cow fields and ramshackle trailers was 16.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rickety. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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