1
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
some ratty old magazines were the only reading material in the mountaintop cabin
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2
as in tattered
worn or torn into or as if into rags
can I use this ratty old T-shirt to wipe up some paint?
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3
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
I get pretty ratty after hours of dealing with demanding customers
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4
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a ratty way to treat an old friend who's fallen on hard times
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of ratty
The bar was full of Berliners, gorgeous girls with ratty mullets and 1970s eyeglasses, skinny boys slouching in all black.
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Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2024
If your bath mat is ratty and scratchy, consider snapping up some replacements on Amazon.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 19 July 2024
There was Harold’s Bar and the Waldorf Cellar, which was very grand, like a ’20s speakeasy, with booths and vinyl that had gone ratty and a big mural of palm trees.
—Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 2024
Miller says his star also used contact lenses to obscure those dazzling baby blues, and was fine being featured with a long beard and a mane of hair that turns decidedly ratty as the tale progresses.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 23 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ratty 
Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2024
If your bath mat is ratty and scratchy, consider snapping up some replacements on Amazon.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 19 July 2024
There was Harold’s Bar and the Waldorf Cellar, which was very grand, like a ’20s speakeasy, with booths and vinyl that had gone ratty and a big mural of palm trees.
—Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 2024
Miller says his star also used contact lenses to obscure those dazzling baby blues, and was fine being featured with a long beard and a mane of hair that turns decidedly ratty as the tale progresses.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 23 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ratty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratty
Adjective
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This small apartment on the eastern edge of Paris was so dilapidated that not long after moving in, its owner turned around and moved out.Annabelle Dufraigne, Architectural Digest, 10 Dec. 2024
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Ford invested $740 million into renovating the depot and transforming several other sites in the immediate Corktown district so that now the dilapidated train station is the centerpiece of a new campus devoted to future mobility technology that draws in thousands of visitors.Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Shane Colombo’s father, Ernesto, brought a tattered file of paperwork to each day of the court proceedings.Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Oct. 2024
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With rescue and cleanup efforts still front of mind in the Tampa Bay region, the city of St. Petersburg is a long way from making any decisions on how to fix the tattered stadium, officials said Friday.NBC News, NBC News, 12 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Even if a more irritable side of her personality has emerged, there’s no excuse for cruelty.R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024
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In worst-case scenarios, pain can cause a dog to be more irritable and aggressive, like if a human had a severe headache and couldn't tolerate social interaction, Enomoto said.Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
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My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
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In the century that followed, amputation remained a neglected area of medicine.Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
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The business owners hoped to revitalize a neglected commercial stretch.Amanda Yeager, Baltimore Sun, 28 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Again, this somewhat ragged rendition isn’t equal to the multi-layered studio version or live ones heard on bootlegs; in particular, the Stills and Young interplay from a Dallas 1968 show makes the Springfield sound like the true originators of the jam band concept.David Browne, Rolling Stone, 2 Dec. 2024
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Carl Wanderer was sentenced to hang for killing the unnamed ragged stranger.Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 24 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The electric vehicle maker still is shooting for a launch of its cheaper vehicle in the first half of next year and other models later in the year, the bank said after the meeting with investor relations chief Travis Axelrod.Rachael Levy, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
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And cheap, lower-tech methods of creating and disseminating false information have been extremely successful on their own.Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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There’s a good bit of history in the faded paint: The late D’Alessandros — Old Tommy and Young Tommy, both Baltimore mayors, and the father and brother, respectively, of Pelosi — appear.Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 24 Nov. 2024
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In between the customers, vendors were constantly on the move, expertly moving buckets of flowers from nearby coolers onto the floor or stripping faded petals and leaves from new bunches of flowers.Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Ratty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratty. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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