1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
she was a scrappy girl despite—or, perhaps, because of—her small size
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in controversial
given to arguing
a pair of scrappy movie critics who can never agree on anything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrappy
The tech boom was fueled by scrappy startups that catered to their workers’ dreams of changing the world for the better.
—
Nicholas Riccardi, Chicago Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
Arkansas’ offense leaned on Davis, who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four just two years ago, to create offense against a scrappy Texas Tech defense.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025
Or a scrappy politician 31 years her junior who is immersed in local issues and knows the inner workings of City Hall?
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
But with John Calipari on the sideline and a roster full of top-end talent, Arkansas is hardly a scrappy longshot.
—Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrappy
Nicholas Riccardi, Chicago Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
Arkansas’ offense leaned on Davis, who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four just two years ago, to create offense against a scrappy Texas Tech defense.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025
Or a scrappy politician 31 years her junior who is immersed in local issues and knows the inner workings of City Hall?
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
But with John Calipari on the sideline and a roster full of top-end talent, Arkansas is hardly a scrappy longshot.
—Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrappy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrappy
Adjective
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But in recent weeks, Musk dramatically lowered his taxpayer savings estimates from DOGE's government cuts, disagreed publicly with Trump's aggressive tariff policies and butted heads with multiple Trump officials, some publicly, revealing divisions within the White House over Musk's influence.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
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Moderate Republicans from swing districts are balking at deep cuts to social safety net programs, even as hardliners demand more aggressive reductions.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Now, the Steelers have made their decision on Sanders, and elected to pass on the controversial Colorado star.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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Her appointment is the latest wrinkle in the ongoing legal dispute over Castillo’s controversial removal from office on Feb. 18, when the results of the city’s residency investigation were revealed to civic leaders in a closed-door meeting.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The attack at Pahalgam on Tuesday was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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For decades, several domestic militant groups, demanding either independence for Kashmir or for the area to become part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces, leaving tens of thousands killed in the violence.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Some of his actions have been highly contentious, including his decision to deport migrants to an El Salvadorian prison using an 18th century wartime statute — which was subject to legal challenges.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2025
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The implementation was originally blocked in federal court and sparked a contentious legal back-and-forth.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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John Shine described to me a research trip to the hostile mountain environs of Tasmania, where snakes stay under cover except for the 20 or 30 warm days each year.—
Stephen S. Hall,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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Union members shared other experiences and stories, including those of an increasingly hostile work environment for some.—
Molly Guthrey,
Twin Cities,
19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The most glaring of those misses came against Arsenal in October, with Bournemouth trying to break down a stubborn defence following William Saliba’s dismissal.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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Traders do see the Fed cutting in June, but much can change between now and then, and a stubborn central bank could set off Trump again.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The film, which is based on the first book in Richard Osman’s popular series, follows four feisty residents of a U.K. retirement home who solve cold-case murders for fun.—
Eric Andersson,
People.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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The language-learning app, known for its feisty owl mascot, launched an initial version of a chess course for English users with Apple devices on April 22.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrappy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrappy. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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