as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a scabby trick to play on someone trying to help
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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
View this post on Instagram Currently wrapped in a somewhat scabby old blanket, with a face mask on, clutching a lukewarm coffee while attempting and failing to get some decent writing done ? Send help.
—Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, 6 Mar. 2019
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
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
View this post on Instagram Currently wrapped in a somewhat scabby old blanket, with a face mask on, clutching a lukewarm coffee while attempting and failing to get some decent writing done ? Send help.
—Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, 6 Mar. 2019
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
-
The Browns are clearly in rebuild mode, with 2026 expected to be a lame-duck season at quarterback with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders vying for the starting job for a season before the team uses the 2027 draft to select its latest quarterback of the future.—
Jim Reineking,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
-
Initially blocked by recalcitrant Democratic members of the House, the legislation was reintroduced during a lame-duck session following the 2024 election.—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Trump has made a pitiful shambles of what should have been a glorious moment.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
-
With his country flailing in their pitiful attempts to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, at the age of 33, Zidane underwent his change of heart.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
There are very few hints in art of dogs being dirty, vicious or rabid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Merchants in fine suits rode in carriages or on sedan chairs while enslaved people lugging carts and crates wore dirty, threadbare clothing and could be publicly whipped or burned to death for misbehavior.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Analyst Seth Seifman said in a note that the stock still isn’t cheap — with Kratos trading at 76 times forward earnings — but notes that investors have been awarding high-growth companies in this sector with elevated premiums.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
12 June 2026
-
While countries highlighted in a new report of summer’s top travel destinations may not come as a surprise, the data also revealed ways to get there for cheaper.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
Yet thieves have found a nasty workaround.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
-
The nasty spat culminated in April when Shell agreed to resign as president of Paramount Skydance to concentrate on his legal headache.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Jones also further expounds on the vampire’s wretched lineage and mythology through flashbacks.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
-
Portages can be wretched, slippery hellscapes of mud, bugs, and steep, rocky hills seemingly designed to inflict lower back pain.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
The president announced the work in April during an unrelated Oval Office appearance, saying he was inspired by complaints from a friend visiting from Germany who called the pool dark and disgusting.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
-
Seeing a game get shipped off to a foreign land for no good reason is even more disgusting.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Teams like Haiti, Jordan and Curacao provide pillowy cushions in otherwise mean-spirited, competitive groups.—
Filip Bondy,
New York Daily News,
10 June 2026
-
The mean probability of voluntarily quitting one’s job increased to the highest level in more than three years.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scabby. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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