as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
dressed in scruffy old clothes to clean out the garage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scruffy
Gilroy’s version was an origin story tracing the making of a revolutionary, the education of Cassian Andor as a scruffy, reluctant malcontent who is radicalized into a rebel leader.
—
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2025
Gnarled trees and scruffy brush fill one side of the road, on the other the sandy embankment of the beach.
—Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2025
But Warren’s career isn’t just another story of a scruffy singer-songwriter’s stock skyrocketing proportionately to national and global grief and stress.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 July 2025
He is shorn of his rakish mustache, and a scruffy isthmus sprouts at the crown of his receding hairline.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for scruffy
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2025
Gnarled trees and scruffy brush fill one side of the road, on the other the sandy embankment of the beach.
—Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2025
But Warren’s career isn’t just another story of a scruffy singer-songwriter’s stock skyrocketing proportionately to national and global grief and stress.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 July 2025
He is shorn of his rakish mustache, and a scruffy isthmus sprouts at the crown of his receding hairline.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for scruffy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scruffy
Adjective
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Dayna is unemployed and newly single, and an out-of-the-blue opportunity to fix up a dilapidated mansion into an influencer house seems like her ticket to a new life.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
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Nearly two weeks after San Jose began dismantling its largest homeless encampment, the city is set to open its first-ever safe sleeping site, which will provide tents for dozens of the approximately 370 residents who have lived in dilapidated RVs and squalor at Columbus Park.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Same premise as the exterior, but even more important: Don’t buy a car with a neglected interior.—
Jimmy Camp,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
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Close the Loop Following through on commitments is the simplest and yet shockingly most neglected way to earn long-term trust.—
Serenity Gibbons,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scruffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scruffy. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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