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

There’s also a toddler in this ramshackle flat, so be sure to table your judgment about youth raising children from multiple partners.

From Los Angeles Times

The remains of his victims were found at a ramshackle pig farm he owned outside Vancouver, where authorities conducted what at the time was the largest crime-scene investigation in Canadian history.

From New York Times

The ramshackle tents and shelters are densely packed in mazes of corrugated metal and plastic sheets, blankets and bedsheets draped over wooden sticks for privacy.

From Seattle Times

It was one of the poorest cities in Southeast Asia, where three out of four residents lived in overcrowded and filthy slums, in ramshackle houses with tin walls known as “squatters.”

From New York Times

The ramshackle houses had tin walls and were known as squatters.

From New York Times

Related Words

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