dingy

[ din-jee ]

/ ˈdɪn dʒi /

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adjective, din·gi·er, din·gi·est.

of a dark, dull, or dirty color or aspect; lacking brightness or freshness.

shabby; dismal.

Nearby words

dinghy, dingle, dingleberry, dingo, dingus, dingy, dining car, dining hall, dining room, dining table, dinitrobenzene

Origin of dingy

First recorded in 1730–40; origin uncertain

Related forms

din·gi·ly, adverbdin·gi·ness, noun

Can be confused

dinghy dingy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dinginess

Every sail that loomed in the dinginess filled me with alarm.
The Frozen Pirate|W. Clark Russell
Kincaid's Battery 'doesn't want to parade its dinginess till it's done something'--pure vanity!
Kincaid's Battery|George W. Cable
As for the furnishings, Georgiana looked about her with an appraising eye which took in all their dinginess.
Under the Country Sky|Grace S. Richmond
There was the same colour of paint on the walls, which had been so managed as to represent the dinginess of antiquity.
Rivers of Ice|R.M. Ballantyne

The rosette is typical of a curious character that the room has for all its dinginess.
Woman|Magdeleine Marx

British Dictionary definitions for dinginess

dingy

/ (ˈdɪndʒɪ) /

adjective -gier or -giest

lacking light or brightness; drab

dirty; discoloured

Derived Forms

dingily, adverbdinginess, noun

Word Origin for dingy

C18: perhaps from an earlier dialect word related to Old English dynge dung

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dingy

adjective, din·gi·er, din·gi·est.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of dingy

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for dinginess

British Dictionary definitions for dinginess

dingy

adjective -gier or -giest

Derived Forms

Word Origin for dingy