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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
The big picture: Not too shabby for a guy who barely dabbled in politics until the past year or so.
—
Axios, 19 Dec. 2024
Looks pretty shabby when Android phones up and down the budget spectrum offer 120Hz displays.
—Allison Johnson, The Verge, 7 Sep. 2024
While the $174,000 annual pay likely doesn't sound too shabby to those living in a country where the median individual wage comes to just over $59,000 a year, members of Congress are earning wages that were set in 2009.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
Set along the banks of the Chama River, the farm’s breathtaking mountain views aren’t too shabby, either.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shabby 
Axios, 19 Dec. 2024
Looks pretty shabby when Android phones up and down the budget spectrum offer 120Hz displays.
—Allison Johnson, The Verge, 7 Sep. 2024
While the $174,000 annual pay likely doesn't sound too shabby to those living in a country where the median individual wage comes to just over $59,000 a year, members of Congress are earning wages that were set in 2009.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
Set along the banks of the Chama River, the farm’s breathtaking mountain views aren’t too shabby, either.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shabby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shabby
Adjective
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Farmers, migrant workers, nomadic groups and residents of remote villages encounter snakes in their dilapidated homes, while sleeping on the floor, using outdoor toilets or walking barefoot.Brian Otieno, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
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Since then, the concept has taken off in over 30 municipalities across northern and southern Italy, including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, as a way to entice buyers to restore dilapidated structures.Megan Michelson, Outside Online, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Footage shown on local and national TV news showed a tattered segment of the pier floating on the swell with at least one person walking across the debris.Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Dec. 2024
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McArdle looked down and felt a surge of sadness: The man was sleeping on several layers of cardboard, his head resting on a backpack, a tattered book slipped beneath it.Greg Borowski, Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Lawmakers also met to better understand the difficulties counties face in finding temporary placements for neglected and special needs children.Christina Lengyel | The Center Square contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 Dec. 2024
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In the century that followed, amputation remained a neglected area of medicine.Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The ragged metallic roaring scream of a Boeing 727 ascending eastward, a high-pitched whine building to a thundering roar, fading to a drone.Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
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The car screamed a ragged series of explosive pops.Rachel Kushner, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Cookbook collectors are well acquainted with the wisdom hidden on a faded page or scribbled on old recipe cards used for bookmarks.Rai Mincey, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
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Its faded and dusty mansions are spangled with Italian marble floors, Mudéjar ceilings, and the fanciest European furniture of the day, now wracked by termites.Lydia Bell, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shabby. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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