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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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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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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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 22 Dec. 2024.
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