as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
a mangy old car that was covered in rust
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Recent Examples of mangy
Talking Heads played their first gig in June, 1975, opening for the Ramones at CBGB, a rock club on a mangy block in the East Village.
—
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
That also includes Leonard, a dapper old parrot who lives in the clinic, and Bitchy, a mangy, rangy alley cat who recently wandered into the office and took up residence.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 30 July 2025
His Orlok is more feral and red-blooded than previous iterations, appearing swathed in ursine furs and accompanied by mangy curs.
—Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Davis was more or less rocking his signature look — a red Adidas tracksuit, hair in mangy dreads.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
The father, in a black frock coat, cracked his whip at a mangy and irritated lion who eventually agreed to jump through a hoop.
—Rosanna Warren, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024
In several cases, the cloned dog’s appeal appeared to lie partly in physical problems or a difficult start in life: the dog found as a mangy stray or rescued from a kill shelter or a bad breeder; the needy dog or the purebred with a non-ideal characteristic.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
That also includes Leonard, a dapper old parrot who lives in the clinic, and Bitchy, a mangy, rangy alley cat who recently wandered into the office and took up residence.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 30 July 2025
His Orlok is more feral and red-blooded than previous iterations, appearing swathed in ursine furs and accompanied by mangy curs.
—Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Davis was more or less rocking his signature look — a red Adidas tracksuit, hair in mangy dreads.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
The father, in a black frock coat, cracked his whip at a mangy and irritated lion who eventually agreed to jump through a hoop.
—Rosanna Warren, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024
In several cases, the cloned dog’s appeal appeared to lie partly in physical problems or a difficult start in life: the dog found as a mangy stray or rescued from a kill shelter or a bad breeder; the needy dog or the purebred with a non-ideal characteristic.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mangy
Adjective
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Longtime Oak Lawn Village Board member Timothy Desmond has resigned from his post to enter into a contract with the village through his home building company to restore dilapidated properties, with the goal of putting them back on the tax rolls.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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The newborn lived in a dank and dilapidated enclosure alongside seven other lions, including his parents, Kim and Carl, said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane World for Animals Canada, whose organization helped shut down the zoo and rescue the lions.—
Andrea Sachs,
Washington Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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For patients living with rare and neglected diseases, the next breakthrough treatment might already be sitting in a pharmaceutical company’s filing cabinet.—
Annette Bakker,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
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When first performed at L.A. Opera a decade ago, the lavish production, co-produced with English National Opera, helped recover a neglected opera.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Reiner, with his head shaved and a scruffy goatee, wore a yellow prison top with blue prison pants.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
There’s an image of New York City, calcified in film, memoir, and newsprint, of a city built on a foundation of scruffy subcultures, especially those communities grounded in the city’s hundreds of distinct diasporas.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mangy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mangy. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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