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
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
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
-
Saying the house is like a character too sounds a bit lame.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
That huge war chest would be especially remarkable amassed by a lame-duck president.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Gallup reached only 50,000 people, a pitiful fraction of The Literary Digest’s awe-inspiring mailbag.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Mercy came via a bye week, the pitiful Raiders and an inept Cowboys defense.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The agency previously had broad authority to regulate this kind of pollution by shifting power generation from dirtier sources like coal to cleaner sources like wind and solar.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Most reporters struggled to cadge a ride to the more distant fronts with the dirty soldiers who kept Franco’s forces at bay.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
What really matters is if the tech can be scaled, is energy-dense enough to complete, and can prove cheap at an industrial scale.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Although this pencil is the cheapest of the bunch, the formula lasts and lasts.—
Alanna Martine Kilkeary,
Glamour,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Failing to check abatement expiration dates creates nasty surprises when incentives end.—
Allison Palmer
Updated February 20,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The club’s record £125million signing suffered a nasty leg break away to Spurs in December.—
Caoimhe O'Neill,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
There were still seasons, birds and bees, and days and weeks in all their wretched assuredness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Over the summer, Gallup measured the party’s approval rating at 34 percent, its lowest point since Gallup began tracking partisan approval ratings, in 1992; a Wall Street Journal poll had the Democrats at 33 percent approval; a CNN poll put their approval rating at a wretched 28 percent.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Just last week the president tweeted a vile and disgusting image of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and refuses to apologize.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
-
So the disgusting attempt to rewrite history – won’t help.—
Grace Gilson,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Needless to say, despite being unbearable and mean-spirited, Kirke’s character looked good with layers of Completedworks items around her neck and wrists, and on her feet, a pair of Asics sneakers from the brand’s first round of collaboration adorned with pearl beaded bows.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
To me, being mean to each other was not supposed to be part of it.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scabby. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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