squalor

[ skwol-er, skwaw-ler ]

noun

1. the condition of being squalid; filth and misery.

   Synonyms: wretchedness

   Antonyms: splendor

squalor

/ ˈskwɒlə /

noun

1. the condition or quality of being squalid; disgusting dirt and filth

Word History and Origins

Origin of squalor¹

1615–25; < Latin squālor dirtiness, equivalent to squāl ( ēre ) to be dirty, encrusted + -or -or ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of squalor¹

C17: from Latin

Example Sentences

The family had been living in squalor, surrounded by rubbish and human excrement, before the tragedy, the trial had heard.

From BBC

“It’s not compassionate to let people live in squalor just because they want to,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Victim A, who was in his fifties, was kept in squalor by the Rooney family on a travellers’ site in Lincolnshire, while they lived a life of luxury.

From BBC

Kamungo isn’t the first soccer standout, or even the first potential Olympian, to emerge from the monotony, squalor and desperation of a refugee camp.

From Los Angeles Times

The woman whose keen eyes once watched over her family in the squalor of the squatter camps now lives in a world of darkness and sounds.

From BBC

Related Words

• decay
• destitution
• starvation