adjective
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showing the least pleasant aspect; sordid
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(esp of the inner side of a garment) showing many seams
Other Word Forms
- seaminess noun
Etymology
Origin of seamy
1595–1605; seam + -y 1; in transferred senses alluding to the unpresentable appearance of the inside of a garment, i.e., where the seams show
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was all a stimulating change from opera-house productions, which often lean on 18th-century elegance instead of exploring the seamy underside and corruption of the demimonde that is at the heart of the piece.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
Working with cinematographer Robby Müller, Friedkin puts a Los Angeles on screen that is equal parts glamorous and seamy, where even the palm tree in the movie’s logo looks like a gunshot wound.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 18, 2023
The book offers a powerful glimpse into the seamy side of 1970s rock 'n' roll, a time capsule-like rendering of a bygone age.
From Salon • May 7, 2022
Degas did not ignore the sad, seamy fact of their connection.
From Washington Post • Oct. 30, 2019
Weaving through rush-hour traffic on Turtle's bike, Theo trailed the bus to a seamy downtown district across the railroad tracks where Crow and Otis got off.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
