SCRUBBY Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

scrubby

adjective

ˈskrə-bē

as in dilapidated

showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect changed into an old flannel shirt and a scrubby pair of jeans to clean out the garage

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of scrubby While much of the Yucatan peninsula is covered by rain forest, the landscape designers improved on nature here creating a jungle that is less scrubby than the real thing and instead planted with dramatic Mexican fan palms and other tropical trees that create a solid green wall. —

John Newton, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2026 Banks are fringed with grasses and scrubby trees, as colorful hills slant down to the water. —

Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026 Nothing on the surface of this scrubby expanse of western Nevada desert, overlooked by towering, craggy mountains, gives even a hint of what lies beneath. —

Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025 Its clear, shallow waters were pleasant to wade into after lazing under one of the scrubby trees on the sand. —

Lucy Handley, CNBC, 15 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scrubby

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrubby

Adjective

An operating license for a dilapidated Boba tea kiosk displays a 2024 expiration date.

— Audrey Pachuta, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Zaragoza stationed his men on the high ground, hidden behind cacti, behind walls of dilapidated forts, in ditches.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May 2026