Synonyms of scruffy

scruffy

adjective

ˈskrə-fē 

as in dilapidated

showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect

dressed in scruffy old clothes to clean out the garage

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dilapidated
• neglected
• mangy
• shabby
• tatty
• tattered
• dumpy
• grungy
• miserable
• ragged
• scrubby
• desolate
• tired
• abandoned
• seedy
• ratty
• tumbledown
• down-at-heel
• tacky
• down-at-the-heels
• threadbare
• sleazy
• gone to seed
• timeworn
• beat-up
• down-at-the-heel
• broken
• ruined
• run-down
• dog-eared
• down-at-heels
• bombed-out
• moth-eaten
• mean
• tatterdemalion
• unkept
• damaged
• dingy
• decrepit
• forlorn
• bedraggled
• wrecked
• ramshackle
• deteriorated
• rickety
• destroyed
• decaying
• deteriorating
• broken-down
• godforsaken
• injured
• worn-out
• rackety
• hurt
• impaired
• harmed
• rattletrap

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• new
• fresh
• brand-new
• maintained
• kept-up
• reconstructed
• spiffy
• patched
• mended
• smart
• rebuilt
• cared-for
• spruce

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of scruffy

While raising four boys and juggling a career, her earliest and signature save was Larimer Square, which in the mid-1960s was considered a scruffy row of rowdy bars best trimmed with a bulldozer. —Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2025

If Hobbes’ quote is generally presented as advocating for governance or control, American Primeval almost seems willing to accept the nastiness in exchange for the scruffy solidarity. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025

Barbaro asked the scruffy guy behind the counter, who introduced himself as Coby. —Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025

In the city's scruffy downtown ‒ which connects to El Paso's downtown by an international bridge ‒ strays compete for territory and food from restaurants or overflowing trash cans. —Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 28 Dec. 2024