ramshackle

[ram-shak-uhl]

adjective

1. loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky.

   a ramshackle house.

   Synonyms: flimsy, derelict, dilapidated

ramshackle

/ ˈræmˌʃækəl /

adjective

1. (esp of buildings) badly constructed or maintained; rickety, shaky, or derelict

Other Word Forms

• ramshackleness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ramshackle¹

1815–25; compare earlier rans(h)ackled, obscurely akin to ransack

Word History and Origins

Origin of ramshackle¹

C17 ramshackled , from obsolete ransackle to _ransack

Example Sentences

On reaching the outskirts of the capital, Patna, the team found a ramshackle setup of a dozen metal drums - part of a makeshift apparatus fermenting jaggery, a type of cane sugar, into country liquor.

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Penelope did not turn back even once to look at the ramshackle estate, but kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

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In a corner of their ramshackle tent in southern Gaza, Ghaidaa Qudaih and her family keep a baby stroller and three backpacks filled with clothes, diapers, milk and other necessities close at hand.

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Skyy said his resolve was rooted in his upbringing and appreciating what he’s been given, his father once showing him and a few siblings his ramshackle childhood residence in Ocala, Fla.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Performers are robed and instruments are carried on ramshackle wheelbarrows, setting up the transitory mood of the night.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• broken-down 
• crumbling www.thesaurus.com
• decrepit 
• derelict 
• dilapidated 
• flimsy 
• rickety 
• shabby