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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in controversial
given to arguing
a pair of scrappy movie critics who can never agree on anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 scrappy
Having marked its 20-year anniversary last spring, the platform has evolved from scrappy, loss-making start-up to a smooth-running behemoth.
—
Dade Hayes, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Brandon Miller exited with left shoulder soreness and didn’t return, leaving a gray cloud over the Hornets’ scrappy performance against a team that’s been their arch nemesis.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
As the field sees more scrappy founders spin up consumer apps and software platforms in a matter of months — without big teams or hefty checks — investing in quantum companies could grow more attractive to investors.
—Big Think, 22 Oct. 2025
Marchand built his reputation as an agitating, scrappy forward who knows how to get under the opponent’s skin while also producing on the scoresheet and was named captain ahead of the 2023-24 season, succeeding Patrice Bergeron for the role.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrappy
Dade Hayes, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Brandon Miller exited with left shoulder soreness and didn’t return, leaving a gray cloud over the Hornets’ scrappy performance against a team that’s been their arch nemesis.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
As the field sees more scrappy founders spin up consumer apps and software platforms in a matter of months — without big teams or hefty checks — investing in quantum companies could grow more attractive to investors.
—Big Think, 22 Oct. 2025
Marchand built his reputation as an agitating, scrappy forward who knows how to get under the opponent’s skin while also producing on the scoresheet and was named captain ahead of the 2023-24 season, succeeding Patrice Bergeron for the role.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrappy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrappy
Adjective
-
The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of the aggressive tactics used by Border Patrol and ICE, including against US citizens.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The Chiefs were again aggressive on fourth down — and successful at stopping them, too.—
Scott Chasen,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
As my colleague Sam McDowell noted last month, the Chiefs’ have a short-yardage play that’s more effective than the Eagles’ controversial Tush Push.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Mamdani initially tried to stay on-message, offering a quick disavowal of an unsavory association or controversial past statement and pivoting back his agenda.—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Even leaving these facts aside, neither the doctrinaire socialism nor militant Islam have ever improved any place on earth, and New York City will not be the first.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
He was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group in Gaza allied with Hamas which also held Israeli hostages during the war.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The permits that both companies have received to test and operate their self-driving vehicles became a contentious issue in the lead up to the listings.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The three faced off in two contentious debates in October, in which Mamdani and Cuomo sparred over issues of integrity and experience while Sliwa sought to paint them as two sides of the same ideological coin.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Heading into a hostile environment at the Rogers Centre, the Dodgers must defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in Games 6 and 7 to clinch their second-straight World Series title.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Plot details are very hazy, but the word on the street is that the story centers on a ne’er-do-well smuggler who finds himself in the middle of a deadly double-cross while on a job in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in him surrounded by bodies, hostile mercenaries and thirsty sharks alike.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The White House’s approach to social media now resembles the polemical, trolling, vicious manner of posting that Fuentes and his fans helped pioneer.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The priest’s denunciations of violence against the New World’s darker people perfected a polemical style based not on revelation or appeals to authority but the power of personal witness.—
Greg Grandin
September 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But just outside the grounds, Chase Sapphire, the feisty up-and-comer in the world of rectangular plastic, had rented a stately home for its customers.—
Alyson Krueger,
Air Mail,
25 Oct. 2025
-
How the state’s Democrats decide between Mills and a younger, potentially feistier upstart is likely to reverberate far beyond Maine’s borders.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That individual brilliance which can produce a moment of magic to break open a stubborn defence is harder to come by.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Be sure to pay extra attention to stubborn stains.—
Jennifer Beck Goldblatt,
Architectural Digest,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrappy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrappy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share