What does ramshackle mean?
Word: Ramshackle
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Ramshackle means in such bad repair that it seems likely to fall down. It can also describe a poorly organised system.
Synonyms: tumbledown
How do you spell ramshackle?
Syllables: ram - shack - le
Tricky part: The 'k' sound in the middle needs two letters, ck. Students who rush write ramshakle or ramshacle.
Watch out for: ramshakle, ramshacle
Memory tip: A ramshackle hut creaks and cracks in the wind. Creak and crack carry a k sound, and crack shows the ck you need.
Ramshackle in a sentence
Example 1: We sheltered from the rain in a ramshackle cowshed at the edge of the field.
Example 2: My grandfather still drives a ramshackle jeep that rattles on every bend.
Example 3: The ramshackle tea stall by the bus stand has been there for forty years.
Fun Fact
Word historians trace this adjective to ransackled, an old form of ransack, which means to search a place roughly. So its roots lie in things left in a mess, not in sheep or chains.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
After the storm the villagers worked together to repair the rumshackle footbridge, using bamboo poles and coils of rope from the market.
a) villagers
b) bamboo
c) market
d) rumshackle
Show answer
d) rumshackle. The first syllable has the same vowel as the word for a male sheep.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A cmakshelra wooden boathouse was the only building on the bank of the lake behind the school.
a) remarkable
b) manageable
c) rectangular
d) ramshackle
Show answer
d) ramshackle. The h, the s and the k are found together only in this word, and it describes a shaky bridge.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word ramshackle as used in the sentence:
Behind the railway station stood a ramshackle shed held together with wire and old tin sheets.
a) crumbling
b) sturdy
c) rickety
d) shaky
Show answer
b) sturdy. A shed tied up with wire is anything but sturdy; the other three words all describe the shed as it stands.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the other one.
1. effervesent 2. ramshackle 3. gargantuan 4. incandescent
a) so poorly kept that it may collapse
b) extremely large
c) glowing brightly with heat
d) lively and full of energy
Show answer
d) lively and full of energy. Effervescent has lost the c of its sc pair, and that makes it the misspelt word.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A builder would most probably use this word for ____.
a) a leaning hut patched with odd planks
b) a school hall painted last month
c) a new block of flats with a lift
d) a bank built of polished marble
Show answer
a) a leaning hut patched with odd planks
2. The new secretary calls the club's filing system ramshackle. What should she do next?
a) put the papers into proper order
b) thank the members for their care
c) ask for the same system elsewhere
d) leave everything just as it is
Show answer
a) put the papers into proper order
