sordid
Americanadjective
-
dirty, foul, or squalid
-
degraded; vile; base
a sordid affair
-
selfish and grasping
sordid avarice
Related Words
See mean 2.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sordid
1590–1600; from Latin sordidus, equivalent to sord(ēs) “dirt” + -idus -id 4
Explanation
Describe a person's actions as sordid if they are so immoral or unethical that they seem dirty. Think of the worst parts of a bad soap opera! Sordid comes from the Latin word sordes, "dirt." Something that is filthy or run down such as a neighborhood or someone's living conditions can be called sordid, but it is usually used figuratively to mean immoral or dishonest. If you want to hear the sordid details of someone's actions, it's because they were extremely dishonest or immoral and also because they were supposed to be kept a secret.
Vocabulary lists containing sordid
1984
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Grade 12, List 2
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Heart of Darkness
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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.
Appeared in the February 18, 2026, print edition as 'HBO’s Sordid Kentucky Tale'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
My first exposure to him was in one of my favorite movies Sordid Lives!
From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2022
A Very Sordid Wedding Family members stir up their small Texas town by protesting an Anti-Equality Rally and defending gay marriage.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2017
She took a recurring role that year in the TV series Sordid Lives.
From The Guardian • Jun. 4, 2010
Sordid surroundings have the sad power of making some lives sordid too.
From Diana Tempest, Volume II (of 3) by Cholmondeley, Mary
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.
