shabbier; shabbiest
1
: clothed with worn or seedy garments
a shabby hobo
2
a
: threadbare and faded from wear
a shabby sofa
b
: ill-kept : dilapidated
a shabby neighborhood
3
a
: mean, despicable, contemptible
must feel shabby … because of his compromises—
Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
b
: ungenerous, unfair
laments the shabby way in which this country often treated a poet—Paul Engle
Paul Engle
c
: inferior in quality
shabby reasoning
Examples of shabby in a Sentence
The furniture was old and shabby.
He wore a shabby coat.
Her first apartment was pretty shabby.
They complained about the shabby treatment they received at the hotel.
Backing out of the deal was a shabby thing to do.
Recent Examples on the Web
If Serena van der Woodsen had to end up with someone other than Dan Humphrey, Ryan Reynolds isn't too shabby a choice.
—Rachel Desantis, EW.com, 26 Feb. 2025
Like his late father’s homing pigeons who keep returning to their shabby rooftop coop — a holding-pattern image that echoes the ennui of Terry Malloy on a very different waterfront — he’s imprisoned by the limits of his knowledge, the petrified loop of his experience.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025
But his perimeter finishing hasn’t been shabby, either.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 12 Feb. 2025
However, many grasses begin to look shabby in mid- to late winter so the next mild day is a good time to cut them back.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Rachel Desantis, EW.com, 26 Feb. 2025
Like his late father’s homing pigeons who keep returning to their shabby rooftop coop — a holding-pattern image that echoes the ennui of Terry Malloy on a very different waterfront — he’s imprisoned by the limits of his knowledge, the petrified loop of his experience.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025
But his perimeter finishing hasn’t been shabby, either.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 12 Feb. 2025
However, many grasses begin to look shabby in mid- to late winter so the next mild day is a good time to cut them back.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Articles Related to shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shabby
adjective
shab·by
ˈshab-ē 
shabbier; shabbiest
1
: dressed in worn clothes
2
a
: worn and faded from wear
a shabby sofa
b
: ill kept : dilapidated
shabby houses
3
: not fair or generous
shabby treatment
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