1
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
shabby wallpaper that was peeling from the walls
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tattered
worn or torn into or as if into rags
shabby, stained clothes that are barely better than rags
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shabby
Arizona’s defense isn’t too shabby either.
—
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2025
That’s not too shabby for a group that had its fifth right guard working the bulk of the afternoon.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
For the design of Rory’s shabby-chic dorm suite, Crasco reflected on her own overnight stay on the New Haven, Connecticut, campus back in high school.
—Mara Reinstein, Architectural Digest, 30 Oct. 2025
Director Kim Jee-woon uses every trick in the haunted-house book when spinning the tale of two vulnerable sisters, their neglectful father, and their evil stepmother, all of whom are trapped together in a shabby (but beautifully filmed) old country house.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2025
That’s not too shabby for a group that had its fifth right guard working the bulk of the afternoon.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
For the design of Rory’s shabby-chic dorm suite, Crasco reflected on her own overnight stay on the New Haven, Connecticut, campus back in high school.
—Mara Reinstein, Architectural Digest, 30 Oct. 2025
Director Kim Jee-woon uses every trick in the haunted-house book when spinning the tale of two vulnerable sisters, their neglectful father, and their evil stepmother, all of whom are trapped together in a shabby (but beautifully filmed) old country house.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shabby
Adjective
-
Earlier this year, Saiz Bilbao arrived at a dilapidated building still under construction, its entrance via a seemingly endless stretch of stairs that led to a window-less hostel.—
Georgiana Ralphs,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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Now, charred and dilapidated buildings dot the small city center.—
NPR,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Nearly every panel of the shoe is tattered and torn, including a heel seam that’s coming undone and reveals the inner cork components of the shoe.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
30 Oct. 2025
-
By the end of the summer my catalogs were tattered and worn.—
Neil Sperry,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Few sights are as heart-wrenching as a neglected animal in need.—
Allison Moses,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
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Those plans were later abandoned during the pandemic and the house joined Denver’s neglected and derelict building list in 2024.—
Justin Wingerter,
Denver Post,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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My breath is nervous and ragged but my will determined.—
Vanita Salisbury,
AFAR Media,
6 Nov. 2025
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The result is a ragged primal scream of a film — not a cry for help, but rather, a bellow of maternal rage.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
By the years of the Great Depression, the clown came to represent the faded glory of the circus and reflected the weariness felt by so many Americans in crisis.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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Scherzinger’s only familiarity with the material was Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, which starred Gloria Swanson as a faded beauty of the silent era hell-bent on a return to relevance.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shabby. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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