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Showing results for scabby. Search instead for scabbiest.
Synonyms

scabby

American  
[skab-ee] / ˈskæb i /

adjective

scabbier, scabbiest
  1. covered with scabs; having many scabs.

  2. consisting of scabs.

  3. (of an animal or plant) having scab.

  4. Informal. mean or contemptible.

    a scabby trick.


scabby British  
/ ˈskæbɪ /

adjective

  1. pathol having an area of the skin covered with scabs

  2. obsolete pathol having scabies

  3. informal despicable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of scabby

First recorded in 1520–30; scab + -y 1

Vocabulary lists containing scabby

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.

See Examples For:

Something is genuinely off about the goings-on at the conference, from strange deaths and elevators that suddenly aren’t elevators, to a rash of scabby infections afflicting guests and the discovery of a subterranean tunnel.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 11, 2024

"It was a busy weekend and there were a lot of people ready for a day out. There was me, absolutely stinking, wheeling this box and eating bits of scabby old sandwich."

From BBC Jan. 16, 2023

Brad Greer, 49, developed two scabby infections on each of his legs where rain boots had irritated his skin.

From New York Times Sep. 11, 2017

Beyond stored scabby remnants, smallpox may still exist in suspended animation within buried corpses or mummified human remains.

From Slate Jul. 11, 2014

At night I would run my left hand over the rough, scabby surface of the skin that wasn’t covered by the bandage.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Thus, they would call their dogs and their asses by his name, and the dogs would be the scabbiest in the streets, and the asses the laziest in the market.

From The Scapegoat; a romance and a parable by Caine, Hall, Sir

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