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shabby

[ shab-ee ]
/ ˈʃæb i /
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See synonyms for: shabby / shabbier / shabbily / shabbiness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, shab·bi·er, shab·bi·est.
impaired by wear, use, etc.; worn: shabby clothes.
showing conspicuous signs of wear or neglect: The rooms on the upper floors of the mansion had a rather shabby appearance, as if they had not been much in use of late.
wearing worn clothes or having a slovenly or unkempt appearance: a shabby person.
run-down, seedy, or dilapidated: a shabby hotel.
meanly ungenerous or unfair; contemptible, as persons, actions, etc.: shabby behavior.
inferior; not up to par in quality, performance, etc.: a shabby rendition of the sonata.
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Origin of shabby

1660–70; shab (Middle English; Old English sceabbscab) + -y1; cognate with German schäbig

OTHER WORDS FROM shabby

shab·bi·ly, adverbshab·bi·ness, nounun·shab·bi·ly, adverbun·shab·by, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shabby in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shabby

shabby
/ (ˈʃæbɪ) /

adjective -bier or -biest
threadbare or dilapidated in appearance
wearing worn and dirty clothes; seedy
mean, despicable, or unworthyshabby treatment
dirty or squalid

Derived forms of shabby

shabbily, adverbshabbiness, noun

Word Origin for shabby

C17: from Old English sceabb scab + -y 1
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
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