as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
dressed in scruffy old clothes to clean out the garage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scruffy
There’s this scruffy guy sitting quietly on a beach chair and someone says, there’s Jack Black.
—
Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2025
Arsene Wenger’s early success in north London had been built on the pace and power of Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Gilberto Silva, but when a scruffy 16-year-old with a dodgy mullet and a baggy shirt arrived from Barcelona, a new era began.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Bumped and bustled on scruffy buses, crowded trains and narrow rickshaws.
—Laura Manske, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
The boat departs from a scruffy port called Lavrion, about an hour from downtown in a taxi.
—Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scruffy
Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2025
Arsene Wenger’s early success in north London had been built on the pace and power of Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Gilberto Silva, but when a scruffy 16-year-old with a dodgy mullet and a baggy shirt arrived from Barcelona, a new era began.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Bumped and bustled on scruffy buses, crowded trains and narrow rickshaws.
—Laura Manske, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
The boat departs from a scruffy port called Lavrion, about an hour from downtown in a taxi.
—Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scruffy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scruffy
Adjective
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Police questioned him in 1994 after a man named Mark Peters turned up dead, tied to a chair in a dilapidated cabin in northern Kentucky.—
Dan Sullivan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 May 2025
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Disaster could have been avoided The bridge project aimed to replace a dilapidated wood bridge about 27 miles northeast of Kansas City, in unincorporated Clay County.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
4 May 2025
Adjective
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But the area where these cuts will be felt most acutely is with respect to elder abuse, which is already a neglected area of health care and social services.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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By upcycling a neglected garment, Hirsch hopes to give someone the chance to experience the beauty and craftsmanship that goes into creating a piece.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scruffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scruffy. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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