adjective
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characterized by, covered with, containing, secreting, or resembling slime
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offensive or repulsive
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characterized by servility
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slimy
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at slime, -y 1
Explanation
A slimy slug is fun, but a slimy person is tricky. Slimy means either sticky and wet, or dishonest and rude. A creep who sells broken wheelchairs while smiling is slimy. Slime is a moist and clammy substance, like the stuff a snail leaves behind or the mucus that comes out of your nose. Anything that's slimy is like slime, so it's a good word for describing gross substances. If your oatmeal is slimy, it's less than appetizing, and if a pond is slimy, you probably won't want to swim in it. Figuratively, slimy also means "evil" or "despicable."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I don’t want to ruin this friendship, but it feels slimy.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026
Understanding how this molecular gearbox works could help researchers develop ways to stop bacteria from forming biofilms, slimy communities that cause infections and contaminate medical devices.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
The once clear river had turned murky and slimy, completely changing how she felt about living alongside it, she said.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025
Dustin Nguyen plays Son Pham, a Vietnamese American gangster, civilized, but not in the slimy way gangsters are sometimes civilized in the moving pictures, with Kiều Chinh as his steely mother.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2025
It was slimy, and cold, and felt all wrong.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
