ramshackle

[ ram-shak-uhl ]

adjective

1. loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky:

   a ramshackle house.

   Synonyms: flimsy, derelict, dilapidated

ramshackle

/ ˈræmˌʃækəl /

adjective

1. (esp of buildings) badly constructed or maintained; rickety, shaky, or derelict

Other Words From

• ramshackle·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ramshackle¹

1815–25; compare earlier rans(h)ackled, obscurely akin to ransack

Word History and Origins

Origin of ramshackle¹

C17 ramshackled , from obsolete ransackle to ransack

Example Sentences

After the closure of the school in the early 1900s, the Hôtel Biron housed ramshackle apartments and art studios rented by various Belle Epoque-era luminaries including Jean Cocteau and Isadora Duncan.

From The Daily Beast

These unique items stand out to scrollers in a sea of content, and their original websites may be as ramshackle as the scam pages, making it difficult to discern the actual source.

From Time

My fondest moments as a student were in that ramshackle but storied building.

From MIT Technology Review

Mayorga evokes ramshackle dwellings of her native Colombia and elsewhere with “Beautiful Facade,” a pink-painted cardboard and wood model.

From Washington Post

Near the charming fishing harbor of Port-en-Bessin is the somewhat ramshackle Musee des Epaves Sous-Marines de Debarquement.

From The Daily Beast

They set out a strong set of “best practices” to modernize and improve the ramshackle way our democracy runs elections.

From The Daily Beast

Passing this unworkable, ramshackle bill is counterproductive or irrelevant to that task.

From The Daily Beast

Houses, some grand, others ramshackle, sit empty, cars in driveways.

From The Daily Beast

The main underlying cause of Election Day chaos remains our ramshackle voter registration system.

From The Daily Beast

He drives a white mule, and has managed to put a top of sail cloth on an old ramshackle buggy, which he calls a 'shay.'

From Project Gutenberg

Oh, yes; that ramshackle place near the swamp, with the gipsy-looking people hanging about.

From Project Gutenberg

This last as the party rounded a clump of trees and through the rain saw a low, ramshackle cabin ahead of them.

From Project Gutenberg

In the street a luxurious limousine was tooting for a ramshackle prairie schooner to turn to one side.

From Project Gutenberg

This ramshackle thing we're setting up now couldn't even begin to turn out the ties alone.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• broken-down
• crumbling
• decrepit
• derelict
• dilapidated
• flimsy
• rickety
• shabby