ratty

[rat-ee] /ˈræt i/

adjective, rattier, rattiest.

full of rats.

of or characteristic of a rat.

wretched; shabby:

a ratty, old overcoat.

Slang. irritable or angry; bad-tempered; nasty:

I always feel ratty when I wake up.

Origin

1860-65; rat + -y¹

Examples from the web for ratty

More than often, this rather selfish debate seems to take an hour or more, which makes me pretty ratty by the morning.
My ratty old toy box was animated into a rectangular troll that had eaten all of my favorite possessions.
The office was in a ratty downtown building above a magic shop.
Its rough, ratty-looking surface was a prime breeding ground for a clot.
There were always a couple of these sounding sticks kicking around in the ratty sub-cushion regions of a flivver.
At its center is what looks to be a ratty, decaying recliner.
You're sure your ratty underwear is showing, and you're a charlatan and a fraud.
Second, my ratty torn stuff is much more comfortable than the new stuff.
The distributors thought it was much too ratty for the theater.
They're a ragged group in knit caps and ratty coats, hunched over their keyboards.

British Dictionary definitions for ratty

/ˈrætɪ/

adjective -tier, -tiest

(Brit & NZ, informal) irritable; annoyed

(informal) (of the hair) unkempt or greasy

(US & Canadian, slang) shabby; dilapidated

(Austral, slang)

of, like, or full of rats

Derived Forms

rattily, adverb
rattiness, noun

Word Origin and History for ratty

adj.

1856, "resembling a rat;" 1865, "full of rats;" 1867, "wretched, miserable, shabby," from rat (n.) + -y (2).

Slang definitions & phrases for ratty

adjective

Shabby; slovenly; scruffy, tacky: The skinny Berkley, with her ratty hair and sharp teeth/ the rat-ass rags he's always wearing (1867+)