SCABBY Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

scabby

adjective

ˈska-bē

Definition of scabby

as in lame

arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust that's a scabby trick to play on someone trying to help

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of scabby One of the most common is apple scab, which is a fungal disease that causes dark, scabby spots to appear on the leaves and fruit. — Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 31 May 2026 Wheat can be treated to remove scabby kernels. — Tom W. Allen, The Conversation, 12 Nov. 2025 Darken and thicken it for old and scabby goop. — Mark Hay, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2025 There were the same cars on the blocks, the clotheslines, and the scabby back yards. — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025 As buzzy, crowd-pleasing indie comedies got snatched up for millions, the festival's scabby mutant black sheep went untouched, until horror-specific streaming service Shudder stepped in. — Charles Bramesco, Esquire, 20 July 2017 People walk up and try to grab a sample with dirty, bleeding, scabby hands not realizing that other people will also be sampling that food. — Abigail Van Buren, Twin Cities, 31 Mar. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scabby

Adjective

But instead of playing kingmaker, the lame-duck governor has refused to get behind a candidate to succeed him.

— Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
Stronger and more flavorful than in your original lame iteration?

— Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Definition of lame

Adjective

Completing the hat trick in pitiful style, Taking on the World was shot on a shoestring budget, helmed by the man behind Highlander III, and forced to rely on stock footage of real-life footballers.

— Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Given the national team’s pitiful demise at the Oval, with New Zealand completing victory on the fifth morning, Ben Stokes’ revival in absentia feels like the only consolation from a miserable week.

— Hector Vickers, New York Times, 21 June 2026

Definition of pitiful

Adjective

Or stands proudly athwart a county that has long demonized it as too dirty, too crime-ridden — in other words, too Latino.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
At the center sits a giant mound of dirty work clothes, and hidden speakers play a nonstop whisper of the laborers’ names.

— Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2026

Definition of dirty

Adjective

But the breaking point came when his wife refused to let their young children near any of his half-century-old vehicles, which lacked air bags and the safety features standard in even the cheapest modern cars.

— Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 10 July 2026
As launch gets cheaper and hardware more standardized, companies can reach into space without having to master or even own the hardware.

— Charlotte Kiang, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026

Definition of cheap

Adjective

The prettiest man in football landed a nasty elbow to Ireland’s Dara O’ Shea and was justifiably handed a red card.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026
One is the true story of a white, nasty gentleman who had more power than anybody in the United States for longer, and the other is a love story between two gay people at a time when that had to be way, way, way down low.

— K.J. Yossman, Variety, 7 July 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

Sixteen children from the same family who were rescued from a dilapidated home in rural Ohio were living in wretched conditions with human waste all around, confined to just one room over much of the past four years, authorities said.

— CBS News, CBS News, 1 July 2026
The Giants, who went on to lose yesterday, are now 31-46, and the vibes are wretched.

— Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 22 June 2026

Definition of wretched

Adjective

All this whining about online hate and fans being mean and blah, blah, blah.

— Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
This doesn’t relate to AI replacing jobs, but rather, an increase in the number of enterprise launches accomplished in a leaner-and-meaner fashion than ever before.

— Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026

Definition of mean

Browse Nearby Words

scab

scabby

scabrous

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“Scabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scabby. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of scabby

adjective

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