sleazy

[slee-zee, sley-zee]

adjective

sleazier, sleaziest 

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

Other Word Forms

• sleazily adverb
• sleaziness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleazy¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleazy¹

C17: origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, it would only be another two decades before a new cadre of rock writers, hungry for their own version of sleazy, glamorous rock privilege, manifested the Strokes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He might have excelled at the sleazy roles that made Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino famous.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In it, a sleazy gym owner attempts to keep his business afloat by stealing and selling human breast milk to desperate gym-goers, until things quickly take a fatal turn.

Read more on Salon

The Goggins gift for playing characters who are both sleazy and incredibly alluring was on full display in this Mother’s Day sketch about a brunch that gets very, very dirty.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This time it's no holds barred, straight-up grift and corruption in the billions, featuring foreign governments, sleazy scam artists and a big play in the arcane world of cryptocurrency.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• seedy 
• sordid 
• tacky 
• trashy