shabby-genteel

[shab-ee-jen-teel]

adjective

trying to maintain dignity and self-respect despite shabbiness.

Origin of shabby-genteel

First recorded in 1745–55

Related formsshab·by-gen·til·i·ty

[shab-ee-jen-til-i-tee] /ˈʃæb i dʒɛnˈtɪl ɪ ti/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shabby-genteel

Starvation, shabby-genteel rags, beatings, and full-flavored curses were her daily portion.
Superwomen|Albert Payson Terhune
The cars hummed smoothly through the broad streets, past the shabby-genteel apartment neighborhood.
Instant of Decision|Gordon Randall Garrett
Here were crowded together seamen and landsmen, pickpockets, the refuse of the streets, and shabby-genteel gentlemen.
George Cruikshank's Omnibus|George Cruikshank
The speaker was an elderly man of shabby-genteel appearance and polite address.
Blue Lights|R.M. Ballantyne

Such objects, with few exceptions, are shabby-genteel people.
Sketches by Boz|Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for shabby-genteel

shabby-genteel

adjective

preserving or aspiring to the forms and manners of gentility despite appearing shabby

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

shabby-genteel

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of shabby-genteel

Examples from the Web for shabby-genteel

shabby-genteel

adjective