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shabby

[shab-ee] / ˈʃæb i /




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.

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The show stars Sir Gary as Jackson Lamb, the shabby and dischevelled yet competent head of Slough House whose trademark move is breaking wind.

From BBC Jun. 17, 2026

The whole affair was tawdry, shabby, and cheap—designed to pander to downwardly mobile young men who felt angry at the world.

From Slate Jun. 11, 2026

The new rules do not apply to notorious "coffin homes", cubicles stacked on top of each other like bunk beds in shabby dormitories.

From Barron's May 28, 2026

As he proved Saturday, he is not too shabby outdoors, either.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 12, 2026

I wished he were less remote; and I anything but the creature that I was in my shabby coat and skirt, my broad-brimmed schoolgirl hat.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

“From A to Z, from animal services to the zoo, the city is shabbier and more dysfunctional than it was three years ago,” said Cole, now a member of the Pasadena City Council.

From Los Angeles Times May 27, 2026

A shabbier perspective is integral to any depiction of Jacobs’ work.

From Salon Mar. 27, 2026

The meeting house grows progressively more dilapidated, and the costumes get shabbier, indicating that things aren’t going well for the Puritans.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 2, 2026

However, the photo she said she took in person showed a much shabbier house, featuring uneven grass and cluttered with yard equipment where the bench was supposed to be.

From Slate Oct. 17, 2025

We pulled into the yard of one of the shabbier places.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

But it is a copout of the shabbiest sort to exploit this anxiety as a way of averting our gaze from the undiminished threat of North Korea.

From The Guardian Apr. 17, 2017

We’re the ones who highlight the shabbiest research.

From Slate Aug. 28, 2016

The pattern veered to the extreme Saturday afternoon, when the Nationals followed their self-described biggest win of the season with one of their shabbiest losses.

From Washington Post Jun. 29, 2013

Not the shabbiest of lists, we're sure you'll agree.

From The Guardian Jan. 23, 2013

Though the Nolans lived in the shabbiest house in Irish Town, the boys were the dressiest in the neighborhood.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith




Vocabulary lists containing shabby


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