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Squalid vs Shabby - What's the difference?

squalid | shabby |

As adjectives the difference between squalid and shabby

is that squalid is extremely dirty and unpleasant while shabby is torn or worn; poor; mean; ragged.

As a noun squalid

is any member of the Squalidae.

squalid

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Extremely dirty and unpleasant.
  • Showing a contemptible lack of moral standards.
    • A squalid attempt to buy votes.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (zoology) Any member of the Squalidae.
  • * 2008 , David A. Ebert, James A. Sulikowski, Biology of Skates (page 126)
    • Numerous diet studies on squalids have shown that members of this family tend to feed mainly on teleosts and cephalopods

    shabby

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Torn or worn; poor; mean; ragged.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1905, author=
    • , title= , chapter=2 citation , passage=Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.}}
    They lived in a tiny apartment, with some old, shabby furniture.
  • Clothed with ragged, much worn, or soiled garments.
    • The fellow arrived looking rather shabby after journeying so far.
  • Mean; paltry; despicable.
    • shabby treatment

    Derived terms

    * shabby-genteel (Webster 1913)