1
as in dump
a dirty or messy place
this room is a shambles—clean it up right now!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in mess
a state in which everything is out of order
the earthquake left the whole town in a shambles
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
disconsolate and exhausted after losing the match, the wrestler shambled toward the locker room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shambles
Verb
-
At the sound of morning prayers, an older Clarissa awakens from this dream and shuffles out to her lawn, where the leafy bush has been replaced with the industrial skyline of Lagos.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026 -
Tristan returns home and greets James while Siegfried shuffles the woman out the window.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The first robot stumbles on aluminum debris, its wheels furiously trying to get traction and move around the obstacle.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
-
Roher and co-writer Robert Ramsay craft a classically structured screenplay about a talented piano tuner who stumbles into a life of crime, upon which Roher, editor Greg O’Bryant, and composer Will Bates embroider jazzy rhythms and inflections, inspired by the musical world our characters inhabit.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Set in the evening, the scene broods as an unknown figure, only identifiable by his terrible Lego haircut and furry boots, stomps toward the Stallion Saloon.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
-
In the closing moments, Godzilla stomps his way to the Statue of Liberty, setting his sights on New York City.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Shambles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shambles. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
