Shabby
Shabby adjective - Showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect.
Usage example: shabby wallpaper that was peeling from the walls
Threadbare is a synonym for shabby in scruffy topic. In some cases you can use "Threadbare" instead an adjective "Shabby", when it comes to topics like better, used, worn, broken-down. popular alternative
Nearby Word: shabbily
Threadbare
Threadbare adjective - Showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect.
Usage example: bought a threadbare couch at a garage sale
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- One of the Demons of Ignorance in The Phantom Tollbooth is the Threadbare Excuse, a shabby little fellow who seems to like latching on to someone and muttering these into their ear.
Source: Lame Excuse
Cite this Source
Threadbare and Shabby. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/shabby/threadbare
Shabby & Threadbare. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/shabby/threadbare>.
Threadbare or Shabby. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/shabby/threadbare.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "shabby" and "threadbare" have occurred on timeline