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 Word Forms

• ramshackleness 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

The ramshackle structures that survive — often with missing roofs and walls, and stairs leading nowhere — have little in common, save for their shambolic, ad hoc construction designed less for permanence than speed and low price.

From Los Angeles Times

The Dreadnaught was — well, you’ve eaten there, or someplace like it: a big, old, ramshackle driftwood pile, built out over the water on ancient wooden pylons.

From Salon

The areas being searched are close to a ramshackle dwelling where Brückner lived at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

From BBC

We watch as Anima pours gasoline all over a snowy ramshackle house in the mountains and lights it on fire before driving away.

From Salon

On stage, he performs in a ramshackle sailing boat, clinging to the mast as the ocean threatens to consume him.

From BBC

Related Words

• broken-down 
• crumbling www.thesaurus.com
• decrepit 
• derelict 
• dilapidated 
• flimsy 
• rickety 
• shabby