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
Synonyms
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
The Matterhorn and Mont Blanc are not too shabby either.
—Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Few disputed the decision, but the handling of Fonseca’s exit was shabby.
—James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
That’s a throwback, too, to the bawdy times of season one, briefly glimpsed on the shabby screen in the vampires’ makeshift home theater at the end-end (as opposed to the parody end, or the end for the cameras) of the series.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, Kylie's husband, Jason Kelce, isn't doing too shabby in the podcast world either.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shabby 
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Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Few disputed the decision, but the handling of Fonseca’s exit was shabby.
—James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
That’s a throwback, too, to the bawdy times of season one, briefly glimpsed on the shabby screen in the vampires’ makeshift home theater at the end-end (as opposed to the parody end, or the end for the cameras) of the series.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, Kylie's husband, Jason Kelce, isn't doing too shabby in the podcast world either.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shabby
Articles Related to shabby
Dictionary Entries Near shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 17 Jan. 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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