shabby
Old, worn out and scruffy-looking.
shabby in a sentence
- The scarecrow's shabby coat was full of holes and patched at both elbows.
- Our sofa has gone shabby over the years, worn thin with faded patches on every arm.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to shabby?
- Ascruffy
- Bneat
- Csmart
- Dnew
Show the answer
A: scruffy. The other three mean the opposite of shabby.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to shabby?
- Atatty
- Bworn
- Cscruffy
- Dsmart
Show the answer
D: smart. The other three mean nearly the same as shabby.
Words that mean something similar
scruffy, tatty, worn
Words that mean the opposite
smart, neat, new
More words about appearance & looks
- sleek: Smooth, shiny and well cared for.
- splendid: Extremely good or beautiful to look at.
- stately: Grand, dignified and impressive.
- stout: Rather fat and solid, or strong and thick.
- sturdy: Strong and solidly built, not easily broken.
- superb: Extremely good; among the very best.
- tarnish: To make something less shiny or spoil how good it seems.
- tattered: Torn, ragged and falling apart.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test