holey

adjective

Definition of holeynext
as in shredded

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of holey Don’t donate moldy, ripped, or holey shoes or pairs with no structure. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2026 That’s thanks to a quirk of South Florida’s geology, where the entire region is perched on holey rock that does little to stop the rise of groundwater, which Sukop’s research has shown is rising on pace with sea level. — Susan Merriam, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2025 But the story is lumpy too, its mechanical interweaving of Shakespeare and Disney somehow both predictable and holey. — New York Times, 24 Oct. 2021 In a 2018 Frontiers in Psychiatry case study, a girl with trypophobia reported being triggered by seeds on bread, polka dot or animal prints, holey cheese, and honeycomb. — Natasha Lavender, SELF, 26 July 2019 This part happens fast, but the gist is that the holey boat founders next to a larger ship that’s sinking and spilling oil into the water. — Eliza Thompson, Cosmopolitan, 17 July 2017 Remember when someone turned their fingernails into holey slices of Swiss cheese and the internet was devastated by the grossness? — Kelsey Stiegman, Seventeen, 14 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holey
  1. shredded
  2. patchy
  3. dilapidated
  4. mangy
  5. decrepit
  6. dingy
Adjective
  • The Aegean Dragon maki ($23), for example, combines shrimp tempura with criollo relish and harissa, while the Kataifi ($33) wraps tuna and melon in shredded pastry.
    — Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The restaurant also had to throw away ground beef, shredded chicken, shredded cheese, raw pork chops and raw steaks because they weren’t held at a minimum temperature of 41 degrees.
    — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of shredded
Adjective
  • Lows Friday night could fall into the 30s across many suburbs, with patchy frost possible north and west of Philadelphia.
    — Kate Bilo, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • But domestic interpretations of international laws often vary, which can lead to patchy protection of human rights.
    — Mary Lind, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of patchy
Adjective
  • Protests by high school students angry about dilapidated, understaffed schools have roiled France since mid-September.
    — JOHN LEICESTER, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The protests have been building since late September, sparked by complaints of staff shortages and dilapidated schools.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of dilapidated
Adjective
  • For some reason that has zero bearing on the plot, Digger loves his mangy cat and is determined to keep the ailing creature, half-blind and incontinent, alive at any cost.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Too mangy, too rangy, prowling in their bony elegance, leaping weightless from dangerously precarious mounds of sharp edges, peering yellow- eyed from shadows.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 May 2026
Definition of mangy
Adjective
  • Beware of Judy The film opens with Digger waking up to find his decrepit cat, Maggie, at death’s door.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Bumping along a rocky road to the island’s highest point, the officer – one hand on the wheel of his decrepit army truck – points to Eritrea and Djibouti across the water, on the African side of the strait.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of decrepit
Adjective
  • They are dinged up and dingy, fortunate to constantly bask in a golden hue that covers up their imperfections.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Daunt deplored the dingy norm of London’s independent bookstores and spent months keying up his lighting.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of dingy

Browse Nearby Words

hole up
holey
holiday
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Cite this Entry

“Holey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holey. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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