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sleazy

 - 3 dictionary results

slea⋅zy

  [slee-zee, sley-zee]
–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.
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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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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slea·zy   (slē'zē)   
adj.   slea·zi·er, slea·zi·est

    1. Shabby, dirty, and vulgar; tawdry: "sleazy storefronts with torn industrial carpeting and dirt on the walls" (Seattle Weekly).

    2. Dishonest or corrupt; disreputable: Some sleazy characters hang around casinos.

  2. Made of low-quality materials; cheap or shoddy.

  3. Thin and loosely woven; flimsy: The coat has a sleazy lining.


[Origin unknown.]
slea'zi·ly adv., slea'zi·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

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
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