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
One very much hopes that those acres make it through today unscathed, but that seems unlikely, and the state hasn’t yet managed to fix its rickety property-insurance system, which will make recovery harder for many.
—
Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 28 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
Those who are old enough remember being afraid to ride the rickety wooden roller coaster.
—Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Sep. 2022
The underpinnings of the economy, however, still look rickety.
—Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 15 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 28 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
Those who are old enough remember being afraid to ride the rickety wooden roller coaster.
—Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Sep. 2022
The underpinnings of the economy, however, still look rickety.
—Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 15 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rickety
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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White’s performance of the song on Austin City Limits in 1980, which was eventually released as the album Live in Austin, TX, is a ramshackle revelation.—
Garret K. Woodward,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
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The series, based on novels by Mick Herron, follows a band of castoffs from the British national security service who are relegated to a ramshackle office building, with Lamb at its head.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rickety. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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