dingy
Americanadjective
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of a dark, dull, or dirty color or aspect; lacking brightness or freshness.
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shabby; dismal.
adjective
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lacking light or brightness; drab
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dirty; discoloured
Other Word Forms
- dingily adverb
- dinginess noun
Etymology
Origin of dingy
First recorded in 1730–40; origin uncertain
Explanation
If something is dingy, it's dirty. If you spend your days as a chimney sweeper, you probably look pretty dingy. The adjective dingy is often, but not always, used to describe one's clothing or living space. The adjective dingy comes from uncertain origins, but experts suspect it may be a backformation from the word dung, which is animal excrement. So you can imagine how dirty, dismal, grungy, and grimy something described as dingy is.
Vocabulary lists containing dingy
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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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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.
They could end up nursing a grudge that they paid $200 a night for a space that resembles a dingy roadside motel rather than a boutique experience.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
The Mexican singer-songwriter has always found the dingy, artificially lit interiors of the city’s casinos to be a bit unsettling.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025
Goodwill, long known for its dingy thrift stores with dark, crammed aisles and overflowing bins, is getting more glamorous.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025
I was standing in the emergency department at 11 p.m. under dingy hospital fluorescent lighting.
From Slate • Aug. 1, 2025
There was a sheet iron stove in the center of a wooden frame filled with sand, and a faded map on the wall and the dingy plat of a township.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
