Dictionary.com

tatty

1
[ tat-ee ]
/ ˈtæt i /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR tatty

adjective, tat·ti·er, tat·ti·est.

cheap or tawdry; vulgar: a tatty production of a Shakespearean play.
shabby or ill-kempt; ragged; untidy: an old house with dirty windows and tatty curtains.

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Origin of tatty

1
1505–15; tat rag (probably back formation from tatter1) + -y1

OTHER WORDS FROM tatty

tat·ti·ly, adverbtat·ti·ness, noun

Words nearby tatty

tattletale, tattletale gray, tattoo, tattva, tat tvam asi, tatty, Tatum, tau, Taubaté, Tauber, Tauchnitz

Definition for tatty (2 of 2)

tatty2

or tat·tie

[ tat-ee ]
/ ˈtæt i /

noun, plural tat·ties.

(in India) a screen, usually made of coarse, fragrant fibers, placed over a window or door and kept moistened with water in order to cool and deodorize the room.

Origin of tatty

2
First recorded in 1785–95, tatty is from the Hindi word ṭaṭṭī
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to tatty

bedraggled, broken-down, crummy, decayed, decaying, decrepit, deteriorated, dilapidated, dingy, disreputable, faded, mangy, moth-eaten, pitiful, poverty-stricken, ragged, ramshackle, ratty, rickety, run-down

Example sentences from the Web for tatty

British Dictionary definitions for tatty

tatty
/ (ˈtætɪ) /

adjective -tier or -tiest

mainly British worn out, shabby, tawdry, or unkempt

Derived forms of tatty

tattily, adverbtattiness, noun

Word Origin for tatty

C16: of Scottish origin, probably related to Old English tættec a tatter
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