1
as in dump
a dirty or messy place
this room is a shambles—clean it up right now!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in mess
a state in which everything is out of order
the earthquake left the whole town in a shambles
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
disconsolate and exhausted after losing the match, the wrestler shambled toward the locker room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shambles
Verb
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Tristan returns home and greets James while Siegfried shuffles the woman out the window.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026 -
That is not unique — Major League Baseball’s offseason shuffles along at a deliberate pace, just as the Dodgers historically have liked.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The man watches the train tracks, and as the train comes into view in the video, the man then pushes the victim, who stumbles forward.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
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The Lakers are unlikely to catch either of those two teams, unless one stumbles and the Lakers keep winning.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ellie stomps back to the crew mess to whine about it to Jenna and Ben.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
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As skyscrapers towered over them, their cheers, chants and stomps wove through downtown Dallas.—
Jessica Ma,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Shambles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shambles. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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