ramshackle

Adjective

Synonyms: bedraggled broken-down derelict dilapidated tatterdemalion tumble-down

WordNet 3.0

Adjective (1)

in deplorable condition“a street of bedraggled tenements”“a broken-down fence”“a ramshackle old pier”“a tumble-down shack”Synonyms: bedraggled broken-down derelict dilapidated tatterdemalion tumble-down

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Ramshackle \Ram"shac*kle\ (r[a^]m"sh[a^]k*k'l), a. [Etymol. uncertain.] Loose; disjointed; falling to pieces; out of repair. [1913 Webster]

There came . . . my lord the cardinal, in his ramshackle coach. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

Ramshackle \Ram"shac*kle\, v. t. To search or ransack; to rummage. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]

The Devil's Dictionary

RAMSHACKLE, adj. Pertaining to a certain order of architecture, otherwise known as the Normal American. Most of the public buildings of the United States are of the Ramshackle order, though some of our earlier architects preferred the Ironic. Recent additions to the White House in Washington are Theo-Doric, the ecclesiastic order of the Dorians. They are exceedingly fine and cost one hundred dollars a brick.