1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
she was a scrappy girl despite—or, perhaps, because of—her small size
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in controversial
given to arguing
a pair of scrappy movie critics who can never agree on anything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrappy
Filmmaker Kenji Yamamoto views their scrappy plight paralleling his own pursuit as a first-time director.
—
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2025
For many fans of inspirational sports movies, Hoosiers is an all-time great, with Hackman ably portraying the scrappy, tough-love coach Norman Dale, who guides his team of underdogs to the title.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025
This would be an interesting matchup as the Tigers are a very scrappy team.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
Based on Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel of the same name, Dope Thief starts strong and moves with the scrappy, fight-or-flight confidence of its protagonist, Ray.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrappy
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2025
For many fans of inspirational sports movies, Hoosiers is an all-time great, with Hackman ably portraying the scrappy, tough-love coach Norman Dale, who guides his team of underdogs to the title.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025
This would be an interesting matchup as the Tigers are a very scrappy team.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
Based on Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel of the same name, Dope Thief starts strong and moves with the scrappy, fight-or-flight confidence of its protagonist, Ray.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrappy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrappy
Adjective
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Trump prompts a more aggressive digital posture Democrats adopted a more combative stance online in recent weeks as Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce drew protests from liberals and pushback at GOP town halls.—
Matt Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2025
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As a result, teams are taking a more aggressive approach.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The court filing lists a number of Trump administration officials as defendants, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who recently made a controversial visit to the CECOT mega prison for social media content and posed in front of a cell full of prisoners.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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And if anything, the absence of the controversial Le Pen family name is a plus for the rest of the French electorate.—
Cole Stangler,
Time,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Israel ended its ceasefire with the Hamas militant group and renewed its air and ground war last month.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Apr. 2025
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From Myanmar comes the story of a student turned insurgent who joined a militant guerilla group set on overthrowing the country’s military junta.—
The Dial,
The Dial,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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These comments seemed to further his feud with the agency following a contentious 2018 Tesla settlement over Musk's tweets that resulted in the Supreme Court declining to hear Musk's arguments against his tweets being monitored by the SEC.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
31 Mar. 2025
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And with that, Bob Dylan continued to play electric, despite the contentious crowd.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Andreas typically waits until there have been three instances of potential hostile communication before asking her friend or colleague if everything is OK.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
28 Mar. 2025
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Home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations – most of them from Afghanistan – Pakistan has not always welcomed the foreigners, subjecting them to hostile living conditions and threatening deportation over the years.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Happy Birthday for Saturday, March 29, 2025: You are opinionated and stubborn.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2025
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Described by family as larger-than-life in personality and stature, the 6-foot-5-inch Wesley is remembered as a jovial, fiercely stubborn man with a quick wit and passion for advocacy.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Floor-grazing tassels that adorned handbags and became leg holes adds feisty allure to the otherwise sharp silhouettes.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
1 Apr. 2025
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This is a feisty team that never gives up in a game, giving them some hope for the postseason.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrappy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrappy. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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