Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Synonyms
Nearby Words

shabbily

 - 3 dictionary results
Shabby
Find Shabby Online. Spend $125 on Furniture & Save 15%
www.Target.com

shab⋅by

  [shab-ee]
Use shabbily in a Sentence
–adjective, -bi⋅er, -bi⋅est.
1. impaired by wear, use, etc.; worn: shabby clothes.
2. showing conspicuous signs of wear or neglect: The rooms on the upper floors of the mansion had a rather shabby appearance, as if they had not been much in use of late.
3. wearing worn clothes or having a slovenly or unkempt appearance: a shabby person.
4. run-down, seedy, or dilapidated: a shabby hotel.
5. meanly ungenerous or unfair; contemptible, as persons, actions, etc.: shabby behavior.
6. inferior; not up to par in quality, performance, etc.: a shabby rendition of the sonata.
Origin:
1660–70; shab (ME; OE sceabb scab ) + -y 1 ; c. G schäbig

Related forms:
shab⋅bi⋅ly, adverb
shab⋅bi⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shabbily
Shabby
Find Shabby Online. Spend $125 on Furniture & Save 15%
www.Target.com
shab·by   (shāb'ē)   
adj.   shab·bi·er, shab·bi·est

    1. Showing signs of wear and tear; threadbare or worn-out: shabby furniture.

    2. Dilapidated or deteriorated in condition, especially through neglect; seedy: a shabby little park.

    3. Despicable; mean: a shabby trick.

    4. Not generous or just; unfair: shabby treatment.

    5. Of mediocre or substandard quality: a shabby performance.

  2. Wearing threadbare clothing.

    1. Despicable; mean: a shabby trick.

    2. Not generous or just; unfair: shabby treatment.

    3. Of mediocre or substandard quality: a shabby performance.


[From obsolete shab, scab, from Middle English schab, from Old English sceabb.]
shab'bi·ly adv., shab'bi·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

shabby 
1669, from shab "scab" (now only dial., in ref. to a disease of sheep), from O.E. sceabb (see scab), with sound change as described in sh-. Cf. M.Du. schabbich, Ger. schäbig "shabby." Shabby-genteel "run-down but trying to keep up appearances" first recorded 1754.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see shabbily on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: