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
Courtesy of Rachael and Alex Gagnon After being dumped on the side of the road in upstate New York, a scruffy dog named Lylah found her forever home with couple Rachael and Alex Gagnon.
—
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for scruffy
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for scruffy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scruffy
Adjective
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Additionally, several existing dilapidated buildings on the site will be demolished and their concrete recycled and partly reused to realize the new structures.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Sep. 2025
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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
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 18 Sep. 2025.
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