sordid

[ sawr-did ]
See synonyms for sordid on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. morally ignoble or base; vile: sordid methods.

  2. meanly selfish, self-seeking, or mercenary.

  1. dirty or filthy.

  2. squalid; wretchedly poor and run-down: sordid housing.

Origin of sordid

1
1590–1600; from Latin sordidus, equivalent to sord(ēs) “dirt” + -idus-id4

synonym study For sordid

1. See mean2.

Other words for sordid

Opposites for sordid

Other words from sordid

  • sor·did·ly, adverb
  • sor·did·ness, noun
  • un·sor·did, adjective
  • un·sor·did·ly, adverb
  • un·sor·did·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with sordid

Words Nearby sordid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sordid in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sordid

sordid

/ (ˈsɔːdɪd) /


adjective
  1. dirty, foul, or squalid

  2. degraded; vile; base: a sordid affair

  1. selfish and grasping: sordid avarice

Origin of sordid

1
C16: from Latin sordidus, from sordēre to be dirty

Derived forms of sordid

  • sordidly, adverb
  • sordidness, noun

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