1
as in poor
of low quality
shoddy merchandise that soon fell to pieces
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in notorious
not respectable
a waterfront area filled with shoddy saloons, tattoo parlors, and houses of prostitution
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoddy
Anna Furman, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2025
Along with a multitude of injuries enhanced by a shoddy offensive line, the team’s defense has declined year after year, forcing Burrow to put up MVP numbers to even keep his team in games.
—Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018
Only traditional organic feeds such as the shoddy are allowed
—Craig Ballinger, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017
See All Example Sentences for shoddy
Adjective
The dictionary’s president says the spike in searches for the word reflects that people have grown more aware of fake or shoddy content, and desire the inverse.
—Noun
Recycled pop bottles are made into carpets and seat linings, and cotton shoddy—used to make blue jeans—is recycled and turned into sound insulation.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoddy
Adjective
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Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
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In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Adjective
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Both had been held at El Helicoide, the notorious Caracas detention complex widely associated with political detentions.—
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Also this week, grocery chain Wegmans is collecting your biometric data and 2010s cupcake darling Sprinkles is closing, as is famed (or perhaps more accurately, notorious) LA restaurant Horses.—
Noun
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For shoppers hoping for a discount by trading down for a synthetic, alternatives haven't been spared either.—
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Made of durable synthetic rattan with a rust-proof steel frame, it’s built to last and easy to care for—simply wipe it down with a damp cloth to remove dust as needed.—
Adjective
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The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
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History is full of cases where great bands make terrible records, yet history stands speechless at what the Clash accomplished here.—
Adjective
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The next chapter in Murphy’s anthology will examine the infamous American crime, trial and aftermath.—
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The same filmmakers who had made his family infamous in 1973 were summoned, once more, to capture his final days.—
Noun
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Testing includes closed-course validation and large-scale simulation alongside public road testing.—
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Newcastle had a penalty chance of their own waved away just before the break, with referee Michael Salisbury booking Joelinton for simulation.—
Adjective
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Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have designed a new sodium-sulfur battery with higher power density and discharge capacity than before, enabling a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries.—
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Fentanyl is cheap, compact, and lethal at microscopic doses, produced through decentralized networks designed to survive disruption.—
Adjective
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The bill is meant to explicitly prohibit that kind of shady transaction.—
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As would giving Law an award for playing a shady restaurateur in Black Rabbit.—
Cite this Entry
“Shoddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoddy. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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