preserving or aspiring to the forms and manners of gentility despite appearing shabby
shabby-genteel in American English
(ˈʃæbidʒɛnˈtil)
adjective
shabby but genteel in trying to keep up appearances
shabby-genteel in American English
(ˈʃæbidʒenˈtil)
adjective
trying to maintain dignity and self-respect despite shabbiness
Derived forms
shabby-gentility (ˈʃæbidʒenˈtɪlɪti)
noun
Word origin
[1745–55]This word is first recorded in the period 1745–55. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: generalize, nickel, personification, recapture, symmetrical