sloven
Americannoun
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a person who is habitually negligent of neatness or cleanliness in dress, appearance, etc.
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a person who works, acts, speaks, etc., in a negligent, slipshod manner.
noun
Etymology
Origin of sloven
1400–50; late Middle English sloveyn, perhaps < Middle Dutch slof careless ( Dutch slof careless, sloven to toil) + -inne feminine noun suffix
Explanation
A sloven is a disgusting, sloppy person. If you call your messy roommate a sloven, expect him to be offended. You can use the noun sloven when you need a good word for a terrible slob. It's not a very common word, but it replaces pig very nicely when you're talking about a truly sloppy, unpleasant person. Sloven was first used in the fifteenth century to mean "person with horrible manners." Its origins are uncertain, but it probably stems from either the Flemish sloef, "dirty," or slof, which is Dutch for "careless or negligent."
Vocabulary lists containing sloven
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
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The Shining
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Jazz
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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.
The same day Sloven met his lawyer, his bosses in Florida announced 2018 results that reflected the effects of the trade war.
From Reuters • Aug. 20, 2019
In early April, Sloven invited Reuters to meet his trade lawyer, Sally Peng of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.
From Reuters • Aug. 20, 2019
“I know what I have to do, but getting the information is mind-boggling. These are supply chain issues that everyone in the world is going to have to face,” Sloven said.
From Reuters • Aug. 20, 2019
After a site visit in February, Sloven ordered components for his smart mirror to be shipped to Thailand.
From Reuters • Aug. 20, 2019
Why, Jack Sloven, at the very mildest computation, must have lost half an hour a day.
From Parkhurst Boys And Other Stories of School Life by Reed, Talbot Baines
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.
