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Showing results for shabby. Search instead for shagba.
Definitions

shabby

[shab-ee] / ˈʃæb i /
ADJECTIVE
broken-down; in poor shape
Synonyms
STRONGEST
crummy decaying decrepit desolate dilapidated dingy pitiful ramshackle ratty rickety run down scruffy seedy shoddy squalid tacky tattered threadbare worn
WEAK
bare bedraggled decayed degenerated deteriorated deteriorating disfigured disreputable dog-eared faded frayed gone to seed mangy meager mean miserable moth-eaten neglected poor poverty-stricken ragged ruined ruinous scrubby sleazy slipshod tired worn-out worse for wear wretched
Antonyms
STRONGEST
clean fresh good happy healthy new nice stable unused
WEAK
honorable respectable
ADJECTIVE
despicable
Synonyms
STRONGEST
cheap shoddy
WEAK
beggarly contemptible despisable dirty disgraceful dishonorable disreputable ignoble ignominious inconsiderate inglorious low low-down mean mercenary miserly rotten scummy selfish shady shameful sordid sorry stingy thoughtless unkind unworthy
Antonyms
WEAK
good honorable nice respectable

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a meticulously crafted stop-motion world of gritty dockside poverty, a starving waif discovers the neglected girl in a shabby home weeps not teardrops but pearls.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

Starting pay for its nurses averages close to $120,000, which isn’t shabby even in a city with a high cost of living.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

Carey, meanwhile, has generated 692 million streams — not too shabby, of course, but still not measuring up to the Canadian crooner.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025

Morning walkers, political strategists and journalists gather around this nondescript shabby shack, which has been operating since 1949 and is now a legacy tourist attraction.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

Either way, I wasn’t going to kneel in front of a shabby kiln, if that’s what they were thinking.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri