shambolic
/(ˌ)ʃæmˈbɑlɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.26 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[O]ne must admit there were those among us who were somewhat on the shambolic side."
- "He said his club had coined a new word 'Shambolic,' which meant spending more time watching the weather than playing."
- "The precautionary principle is a culturally framed concept that takes its cue from changing social conceptions about the appropriate roles of science, economics, ethics, politics and the law in pro-active environmental protection and management. As this book will reveal, it is a rather shambolic concept, muddled in policy advice and subject to the whims of international diplomacy and the unpredictable public mood over the true cost of sustainable living."
- "The pub was empty of all but the most dedicated drinkers, shambolic figures huddled over bottles."
- "The shabby subterfuge surrounding Suez [the Suez Crisis], as much as its shambolic aftermath, have made it a symbol of the collapse of British global power in the post-war era."
- "During normal times, distribution of goods or services to over 7,000 islands [in the Philippines] is difficult, and the reality is that on a day-to-day basis, it's shambolic. There are too many examples of corruption and inefficiency."
Etymology
Possibly from shambles + -o- + -ic (adjective), in which the interconsonantal -o- avoids the /mbl/ consonant cluster. Possibly influenced by symbolic. Alternatively, possibly a blend of shambles + symbolic.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /(ˌ)ʃæmˈbɑlɪk/
- British English: /ʃamˈbɒlɪk/
Usage
- British usage
Inflected Forms
more shambolic (comparative)
most shambolic (superlative)