I. ˈramˌshakəl, ˈraam- adjective
Etymology: short for earlier ramshackled, alteration of ransackled, from past participle of obsolete ransackle to ransack, freq. of ransack
1. : appearing as if ready to collapse : dilapidated , rickety
once imposing though now ramshackle roof — Ellen Glasgow
mounted on a ramshackle horse — W.F.Starkie
a dirty ramshackle pier — George Santayana
2. : having little moral sense : dissipated , unruly
worrying about the ramshackle morality of … adolescents — John McCarten
I may be getting ramshackle — H.G.Wells
3. : carelessly or loosely constructed
the plot is innocent and ramshackle — Wolcott Gibbs
the book is a ramshackle affair — J.A.Michener
II. noun
: a ramshackle thing
here in the faded ramshackle — Carl Sandburg