adjective
ramshackle
RAM-shak-uhl/ˈræmʃækl/
Poorly built or maintained and likely to fall apart.
The ramshackle shed leans to one side and barely stands.
Etymology
Ramshackle derives from a participial form of ransackle, a verb sharing its ancestry with ransack. The adjective came to describe the ill-made or deteriorated condition of things, especially houses and carriages.
In context
to a ramshackle building reminiscent of the days
More examples
- Their ramshackle van rattles whenever they turn a corner.
- We avoid the ramshackle bridge with its loose wooden boards.
- They repair the ramshackle cabin before moving in.
Forms
ramshackle
Similar words
- rickety
- Emphasizes wobbling or instability caused by weak construction.
- dilapidated
- Emphasizes damage and deterioration from age or neglect.
- decrepit
- Emphasizes being worn out and weakened by age.