shabby
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shabby
- /ˈʃæbi/ US, UK
Rhymes with -æbi
Where it comes from
The adjective is derived from shab (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) scaly skin disease; skin disease of sheep; crust forming over wound, scab”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives).
The verb is derived from the adjective.
Cognates
* Dutch schabbig (“poor, needy, shabby”)
* Middle High German schebic (modern German schäbig (“shabby”))
* Middle Low German schabbich (“miserable”) (modern Low German schabbig, schäbbig)
* Scots shabby (“in poor health, ill”)
* Swedish sjabbig (“shabby, mangy, scruffy”), skabbig (“scabby”)
adjective shabbier · shabbiest
-
Of clothing, a place, etc.: unkempt and worn or otherwise in poor condition due to age or neglect; scruffy.
They lived in a tiny apartment, with some old, shabby furniture.
Similar: decrepit, moth-eaten, run-down, timeworn, tired, tacky, clapped out, damaged, defective, deteriorated, dilapidated, effete
- Of a person: wearing ragged or very worn, and often dirty, clothing. The fellow arrived looking rather shabby after journeying so far.
-
Of a person, their behaviour, etc.: despicable, mean; also, not generous; stingy, tight-fisted.
shabby treatment
Similar: ungenerous, as tight as Dick's hatband, cheap, cheeseparing, chintzy, close, close as wax, close-fisted, illiberal, mean, miserable, miserly
- Poor in quality; also, showing little effort or talent. His painting is not too shabby.
- Of the pulse: thready, weak.
- Of weather: wet and dreary.
- Chiefly of sheep: affected by shab or scab (“a skin disease”); scabby.
verb shabbies · shabbying · shabbied
- To make (something) shabby (adjective sense 1); to shabbify.
- To become shabby; to shabbify. You'll be one of those tough, square, solid middle-aged men, like a shabbying brown bear, your golden crew-cut greying judiciously at the temples.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: worn, dishonorable, dishonourable, ratty, tatty, moth-eaten, ragtag, seedy, crummy, dilapidated, lame, hurt, crappy, sleazy, mal, creep
Translations
Every language
adj of clothing, a place, etc.: unkempt and worn or otherwise in poor condition due to age or neglect — see also worn
| Español | astroso, cutre, raído, zarrapastroso |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 누추 nuchu |
| 日本語 | ぼろぼろ boroboro |
| 中文 | 破舊 /破旧 pòjiù |
| Português | esbodegado, esfarrapado, estropiado |
| Français | élimé, miteux, râpé, usé |
| Deutsch | schäbig |
| Italiano | logoro |
| Română | ponosit, sărăcăcios, uzat, zdrențăros |
| Русский | ве́тхий vétxij, убо́гий ubógij, жа́лкий žálkij, запу́щенный zapúščennyj, захуда́лый zaxudályj |
| العربية | بَالٍ bālin |
adj of a person: wearing ragged or very worn, and often dirty, clothing
| Español | andrajoso, desarrapado, desharrapado, harapiento, zarrapastroso |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ぼろぼろ boroboro |
| 中文 | 破爛 /破烂 pòlàn |
| Português | esfarrapado |
| Deutsch | schäbig |
| Română | zdrențuit |
| Русский | обветша́лый obvetšályj, плюга́вый pljugávyj, поно́шенный ponóšennyj, потёртый potjórtyj, потрёпанный potrjópannyj, ве́тхий vétxij |
Talk about this word "shabby." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shabby. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shabby. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shabby "shabby." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shabby.Cite this
@misc{shabby_2026,
title = {shabby},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shabby},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
