Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Covered with or consisting of scrub or underbrush.
  • adjective Shrublike or scraggly.
  • adjective Paltry or shabby.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of inferior breed or stunted growth; stunted; hence, small; shabby; contemptible; mean: as, a scrubby cur; a scrubby tree.
  • Covered with scrub or underwood: as, scrubby land.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of the nature of scrub; small and mean; stunted in growth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Covered with or consisting of scrub.
  • adjective Inferior in size or quality.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective inferior in size or quality
  • adjective sparsely covered with stunted trees or vegetation and underbrush

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word scrubby.

Examples

  • Unfortunately, in scrubby far South Texas, we had nothing like a jungle.

    WILLIAM DAVID BARNETT 10 NOVEMBER 1958 - 19 JUNE 2001 Maggie Jochild 2007

  • Sure, they had a certain scrubby appeal, but the guys on Jackass were basically dorks.

    Mr Jackass : GQ Feature Ben Barren 2005

  • “Fred the scrubby was my best friend growing up,” Steve said.

    Steve and Me Terri Irwin 2007

  • “Fred the scrubby was my best friend growing up,” Steve said.

    Steve and Me Terri Irwin 2007

  • Another description is called the scrubby oak -- it resembles the British gnarled oak, and is remarkably hard and durable.

    The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1 of 2) George Warburton 1836

  • Valenciennes lace, that being the simplest frock in her wardrobe; but she privately thought even Mrs. Washington's apotheosised lawns and organdies very "scrubby," and could never bring herself to anything less expensive than summer silks, made at the greatest house in Paris.

    The Californians Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton 1902

  • We decided against that peninsula because we are not fond of the excessive heat and humidity thereabouts and we also found the peninsula to be a bit of a scrubby and unscenic flat and undistinguished land except perhaps in the southern part approaching other parts of Southern Mexico and along certain coastal corridors.

    Retiring in Yucatan 2009

  • We decided against that peninsula because we are not fond of the excessive heat and humidity thereabouts and we also found the peninsula to be a bit of a scrubby and unscenic flat and undistinguished land except perhaps in the southern part approaching other parts of Southern Mexico and along certain coastal corridors.

    Retiring in Yucatan 2009

  • You can almost feel them breathing on the page: outspoken Da, her best friend's grandmother; "spooky old" Mrs. Steinbott, with her odd gifts; and even a fox whose presence Mo senses in the scrubby woods nearby.

    Tricia Springstubb's 'What Happened on Fox Street,' for young readers Post 2010

  • We decided against that peninsula because we are not fond of the excessive heat and humidity thereabouts and we also found the peninsula to be a bit of a scrubby and unscenic flat and undistinguished land except perhaps in the southern part approaching other parts of Southern Mexico and along certain coastal corridors.

    Retiring in Yucatan 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.