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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

The lame-duck Senate has 22 legislative days scheduled before the new Congress is sworn in.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
Trump was trounced, the country triumphed, and the long national nightmare is over, but for the rest of his lame-duck presidency.

— Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of lame

Adjective

Nvidia is the pitiful, helpless giant, now revealed, according to the bears, to have just propped up an ecosystem for its own earnings, with a CEO now revealed to be a dubious character.

— Jim Cramer, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
Yet Scudder, a progressive thirty-six-year-old real-estate analyst raised by lesbians on a purple-hull-pea farm in East Texas, assumed the post in 2025, and has been in a rush to reverse his party’s pitiful showings.

— Jesús Rodríguez, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of pitiful

Adjective

Floor around the fryers, floor under and around the drive thru drink station and floor under and around stationary equipment is visibly dirty.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
Using the same sponge for every surface and spill could be making your kitchen dirtier every time.

— Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of dirty

Adjective

For context, the 27-inch ELF-SR2 sells for around ¥550,000 in Japan, so this is a dramatically cheaper way into Sony's 3D ecosystem, landing in the same ballpark as the $299 Looking Glass Go.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Nov. 2026
This year’s conflict has shown the relative ease with which cheap drones can slip past some of the world’s most expensive air defense systems and hit pipelines, ports, and ships.

— Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of cheap

Adjective

Surely, though, it is not lost on the audience that this play opens in the middle of a strikingly nasty political campaign to elect members of the Chicago school board, warring Democrats all.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Someone who hung up on your problem is unlikely to listen to a nasty critique and vow to reform.

— Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

The bat lay on its back, soggy and wretched, here in the waning hours of this terrible day.

— Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
Francis’ native Argentina, for its part, has had a wretched reckoning with abuse and victims there have been demanding action from the Vatican, including to address cases in which Francis was personally involved.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of wretched

Adjective

Everyone starts tasting the varied, apparently disgusting, bottles.

— Alice Burton, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
The third branch of government did its job, and that should be a welcome sight for all Americans given the disgusting and dangerous attacks on our democracy by the federal government.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of disgusting

Adjective

Worst of all are those who claim to be super Christian and then embrace public servants who are just plain mean, carrying themselves like adolescent schoolyard bullies without compunction.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2026
Pain at the pump In several of the states with close Senate races, voters face gas prices that have climbed higher, and more sharply, than the mean nationwide prices over the same period.

— Alexandra Meier, NBC news, 3 Nov. 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 9 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of scabby

adjective

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