Scrabbly

Pronunciation varies by accent · adjective

Meaning

Characterised by scrabbling, or digging around..

Definitions by Sense

1. Characterised by scrabbling, or digging around.
2. Covered in loose rocks or crumbling soil.
3. Difficult to negotiate; requiring scrambling.
4. Scribbly.
5. Thrown together; disorganized or slapdash.
6. Of poor quality; poorly maintained.
7. Characterized by sparse, stunted vegetation, infertile.
8. Stunted.

Example Sentences

Once they were young and little and rather "scrabbly." They were given to loud laughter, to whispers, to scribbling pictures, and to mischievous glances.

With their carapace they survive the ordeal of the nets, frisking into scrabbly action as soon as they can.

That night under the porch there was a scrabbly sound, like a dog in a gravel pile, going steadily on under barks and groans and screeches. Something was digging down deeper.

The scrabbly style of running so remarked upon by the press was partly a result of Casey's efforts not to let that happen.

They just whisked inside, little paws all scrabbly with excitement,

We went turtle-hunting and found a lot of scrabbly things that I couldn't bear, but Faith and Ernest like them.

He saw another form with three legs; some with long tails and scrabbly long fingers on shortened arms; others with skulls that were half human/half reptilian.

As it was, though, I had to smile and pretend to enjoy the feeling of scrabbly little legs in my mouth, or the whimpers of something that didn't enjoy being chewed.

Synonyms for scrabbly

Antonyms for scrabbly

Related Words

Word Forms

• more scrabbly
• most scrabbly

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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