sleazy

[ slee-zee, sley-zee ]

adjective

, slea·zi·er, slea·zi·est.

1. contemptibly low, mean, or disreputable:

   sleazy politics.

2. squalid; sordid; filthy; dilapidated:

   a sleazy hotel.

3. thin or poor in texture, as a fabric; cheap; flimsy:

   a sleazy dress;

   a sleazy excuse.

sleazy

/ ˈsliːzɪ /

adjective

1. sordid; disreputable

   a sleazy nightclub

2. thin or flimsy, as cloth

Derived Forms

• ˈsleazily, adverb
• ˈsleaziness, noun

Other Words From

• sleazi·ly adverb
• sleazi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleazy¹

First recorded in 1635–45 sleazy fordef 3; of obscure origin; probably unrelated to Silesia; first recorded in 1941 sleazy fordefs 1, 2; perhaps a distinct word

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleazy¹

C17: origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Or as Joey, the sleazy, besieged used car salesman in Cadillac Man.

From The Daily Beast

Octopus is one of those sleazy and boorish Americans whose instincts prove correct.

From The Daily Beast

And that is this sleazy rabbit hole in its most perfect summation.

From The Daily Beast

How can she wax poetically about soiling herself at parties and not get branded as sleazy trash, a la Ke$ha?

From The Daily Beast

When the ship docks, the “property” is scooped up by a sleazy slave merchant (Paul Giamatti), and sold at auction.

From The Daily Beast

She wore wooden sabots on her feet, and upon her body a tattered, sleazy black frock.

From Project Gutenberg

Finally he gave them up too, and one morning came to work wearing a flimsy, sleazy, negligee shirt.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a thin, tattered, dried-fish-like thing; printed with blurred ink upon mean, sleazy paper.

From Project Gutenberg

It was brief, occupying only about four pages of the small, sleazy note paper that we bought in those days of the sutlers.

From Project Gutenberg

Joe watched his narrow, bent shoulders under the sleazy shirt.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• seedy
• sordid
• tacky
• trashy