1
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
shabby wallpaper that was peeling from the walls
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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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Recent Examples of shabby
But in the late 1980s, Ports O’ Call Village faded and grew shabby, a victim of changing tastes in entertainment and dwindling investment in its upkeep and improvement.
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Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
Christina’s house turns out to be a shabby roadside shack, and her life more baffling than Grace could possibly have imagined.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2024
In many ways, the instantly recognizable world of Monica Geller’s apartment in Friends—warm, eclectic, and invitingly shabby chic—is a love letter to production designer John Shaffner’s old New York City apartment.
—Thea Glassman, Architectural Digest, 18 Sep. 2024
The Buckeyes have not been too shabby offensively, either.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shabby 
Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
Christina’s house turns out to be a shabby roadside shack, and her life more baffling than Grace could possibly have imagined.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2024
In many ways, the instantly recognizable world of Monica Geller’s apartment in Friends—warm, eclectic, and invitingly shabby chic—is a love letter to production designer John Shaffner’s old New York City apartment.
—Thea Glassman, Architectural Digest, 18 Sep. 2024
The Buckeyes have not been too shabby offensively, either.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shabby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shabby
Adjective
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While Abang quietly guts chickens in the Pudu wet market and takes odd jobs for half the wages a legal worker would receive, Adik is seen fleeing from a raid by immigration police in a dilapidated apartment block.Richard Kuipers, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024
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Her sweet idiot of a neighbor stood on the unlit front porch of his dilapidated brick rancher as the sun dipped below the horizon and shadows stretched to swallow him.Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 19 Nov. 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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Soft landing optimism has led the 2024 stock rally to broaden as of late into more neglected areas of the market such as small-caps.Krystal Hur, CNN, 9 Oct. 2024
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Meanwhile, a team aiming to restore a neglected and earthquake-damaged archaeological site in Turkey came across a tiny 3,500-year-old cuneiform tablet.Ashley Strickland, CNN, 17 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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Carl Wanderer was sentenced to hang for killing the unnamed ragged stranger.Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 24 Oct. 2024
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While the Barry star is great here, the episode actually belongs to Mia Isaac and the terrifying Amy Ruggiero as an escaped patient named Alice Taylor, who appears at a hospital one night in a ragged state, unable to close her mouth.Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 16 Oct. 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
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shabby. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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