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seamy

 - 3 dictionary results

seam⋅y

  [see-mee]
Use seamy in a Sentence
–adjective, seam⋅i⋅er, seam⋅i⋅est.
1. unpleasant or sordid; low; disagreeable: the seamy side of life.
2. having, showing, or of the nature of a seam.
Origin:
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

Related forms:
seam⋅i⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. squalid, rough, coarse, nasty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To seamy
seam·y   (sē'mē)   
adj.   seam·i·er, seam·i·est

  1. Sordid; base: "seamy tales of aberrant sexual practices, messy divorces, drug addiction, mental instability, and suicide attempts" (Barbara Goldsmith).

  2. Having, marked with, or showing a seam.

seam'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

seamy 
1604, in fig. phrase seamy side "least pleasant, worst," from seam (q.v.), the seamy side of a sewn garment being the less attractive, and thus typically turned in. The popularity of the fig. sense likely is due to its use by Shakespeare in "Othello" IV.ii.146: "Some such Squire he was That turn'd your wits the seamy-side without, And made you to suspect me with the Moore."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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