1
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
some ratty old magazines were the only reading material in the mountaintop cabin
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tattered
worn or torn into or as if into rags
can I use this ratty old T-shirt to wipe up some paint?
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3
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
I get pretty ratty after hours of dealing with demanding customers
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4
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a ratty way to treat an old friend who's fallen on hard times
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of ratty
The bar was full of Berliners, gorgeous girls with ratty mullets and 1970s eyeglasses, skinny boys slouching in all black.
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Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2024
If your bath mat is ratty and scratchy, consider snapping up some replacements on Amazon.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 19 July 2024
There was Harold’s Bar and the Waldorf Cellar, which was very grand, like a ’20s speakeasy, with booths and vinyl that had gone ratty and a big mural of palm trees.
—Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 2024
Miller says his star also used contact lenses to obscure those dazzling baby blues, and was fine being featured with a long beard and a mane of hair that turns decidedly ratty as the tale progresses.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 23 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ratty 
Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2024
If your bath mat is ratty and scratchy, consider snapping up some replacements on Amazon.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 19 July 2024
There was Harold’s Bar and the Waldorf Cellar, which was very grand, like a ’20s speakeasy, with booths and vinyl that had gone ratty and a big mural of palm trees.
—Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 2024
Miller says his star also used contact lenses to obscure those dazzling baby blues, and was fine being featured with a long beard and a mane of hair that turns decidedly ratty as the tale progresses.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 23 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ratty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratty
Adjective
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So where does this leave buyers without a few million in cash to throw down on a dilapidated brownstone?Kim Velsey, Curbed, 23 Dec. 2024
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By then, mice and cats had beat him to it, nesting into the corners of the Nora Store and in its dilapidated kitchen.Angela George, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Footage shown on local and national TV news showed a tattered segment of the pier floating on the swell with at least one person walking across the debris.Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Dec. 2024
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McArdle looked down and felt a surge of sadness: The man was sleeping on several layers of cardboard, his head resting on a backpack, a tattered book slipped beneath it.Greg Borowski, Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Every child is different, but these nine common signs could mean your child is craving more of your time and focus: Yelling Children who need more attention often become loud and irritable.Wendy Wisner, Parents, 9 Dec. 2024
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This includes going from feeling very happy, irritable, with a marked increase in activity level (mania), to feeling sad, indifferent, or hopeless with very low activity levels (depression).New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
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My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
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Lawmakers also met to better understand the difficulties counties face in finding temporary placements for neglected and special needs children.Christina Lengyel | The Center Square contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 Dec. 2024
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In the century that followed, amputation remained a neglected area of medicine.Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Again, this somewhat ragged rendition isn’t equal to the multi-layered studio version or live ones heard on bootlegs; in particular, the Stills and Young interplay from a Dallas 1968 show makes the Springfield sound like the true originators of the jam band concept.David Browne, Rolling Stone, 2 Dec. 2024
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Carl Wanderer was sentenced to hang for killing the unnamed ragged stranger.Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 24 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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New England legislators and regulators consistently blocked building additional pipelines from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and other regions in the U.S. and Canada, which could bring cheap, onshore natural gas to replace fuel oil.Ariel Cohen, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
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The 25-year-old is cheap, still a season away from salary arbitration eligibility, also plays the corner outfield spots, and won’t be a free agent until after the 2028 season.Brendan Kuty, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Cookbook collectors are well acquainted with the wisdom hidden on a faded page or scribbled on old recipe cards used for bookmarks.Rai Mincey, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
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Its faded and dusty mansions are spangled with Italian marble floors, Mudéjar ceilings, and the fanciest European furniture of the day, now wracked by termites.Lydia Bell, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Ratty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratty. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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