sleazy
5 dictionary results for: sleazy
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
slea·zy 
[slee-zee, sley-zee] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[slee-zee, sley-zee] Pronunciation Key –adjective, -zi·er, -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. |
[Origin: 1635–45; (def. 3) of obscure orig. (prob. unrelated to Silesia other than by folk etym.); sense of defs. 1–2 (first attested 1941) perh. represent a distinct word]
] —Related forms
slea·zi·ly, adverb
slea·zi·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| slea·zy
(slē'zē) Pronunciation Key
adj. slea·zi·er, slea·zi·est
[Origin unknown.] slea'zi·ly adv., slea'zi·ness n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sleazy
sleazy
1644, "hairy, fuzzy," later "flimsy, unsubstantial" (1670), of unknown origin; one theory traces it somehow to Silesian "of the eastern German province of Silesia" (Ger. Schleisen), where fine linen or cotton fabric was made (Silesia in ref. to cloth is attested in Eng. from 1674; and Sleazy as an abbreviated form is attested from 1670, but OED is against this). Sense of "sordid" is from 1941; sleaze (n.) "condition of squalor" is a 1967 back-formation; meaning "person of low moral standards," and the adj. form, are attested from 1976.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| sleazy | |
adjective | |
| 1. | of cloth; thin and loosely woven; "the coat has a sleazy lining" |
| 2. | of very poor quality; flimsy [syn: bum] |
| 3. | morally degraded; "a seedy district"; "the seamy side of life"; "sleazy characters hanging around casinos"; "sleazy storefronts with...dirt on the walls"- Seattle Weekly; "the sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils"- James Joyce; "the squalid atmosphere of intrigue and betrayal" [syn: seamy] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sleazy
Slea"zy\, a. [Cf. G. schleissig worn out, threadbare, from schleissen to slit, split, decay, or E. leasy.] Wanting firmness of texture or substance; thin; flimsy; as, sleazy silk or muslin. [Spelt also slazy.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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