lousy

[ lou-zee ]

adjective

, lous·i·er, lous·i·est.

1. infested with lice.
2. Informal.
   1. mean or contemptible:

      That was a lousy thing to do.

   2. wretchedly bad; miserable:

      a lousy job; I feel lousy.

lousy

/ ˈlaʊzɪ /

adjective

1. slang.
   very mean or unpleasant

   a lousy thing to do

2. slang.
   inferior or bad

   this is a lousy film

3. infested with lice
4. slang.
   foll by with
   1. provided with an excessive amount (of)

      he's lousy with money

   2. full of or teeming with

Derived Forms

• ˈlousiness, noun
• ˈlousily, adverb

Other Words From

• lousi·ly adverb
• lousi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lousy¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, lousy is from the Middle English word lousi. See louse, -y ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. lousy with, Slang. well supplied with or filled with, often to excess:

   Our city is lousy with bad drivers.

   I wish I were lousy with money like my boss.

Example Sentences

Late in the regular season, against three lousy defenses, he padded stats and started connecting on deep balls.

From Washington Post

YouTube is lousy with Christmas and winter soundscapes, which I turn to every year, because California Christmas will always be just a touch disappointing to a Midwestern girl raised on drifting snow.

From Vox

For all these reasons, it would be misguided to treat lousy lying as a “cognitive failure”, as it clearly serves several social functions.

From No Straight News

Challenger banks—some call them digital banks or neobanks—took off several years ago by exploiting customer frustration with the abusive fees and lousy mobile experience offered by incumbents.

From Fortune

One obvious factor shaking their faith is that growth has been lousy for decades.

From MIT Technology Review

Their intentions may be good, but their execution and insight are lousy.

From The Daily Beast

Thailand has had a lousy track record with functioning democracy for many decades.

From The Daily Beast

Peter Shumlin has been doing a lousy job and voters turned against him, even though he outspent his opponent five to one.

From The Daily Beast

Not surprisingly, some around Barry Goldwater thought it was a lousy idea.

From The Daily Beast

The Getaway Car is lousy with these throwaway lines and asides.

From The Daily Beast

Frey's a private dick—a lousy one, reckless and careless, but still he's a dick and your story didn't go.

From Project Gutenberg

Got more loyalty to a lousy machine than to the whole human race.

From Project Gutenberg

Come one, come all—all you moth-eaten, lousy stiffs from Stiffville.

From Project Gutenberg

Several kinds of beetles are subject to lice, but particularly that kind called by way of eminence the lousy beetle.

From Project Gutenberg

And such a lousy, brawling lot of convicts I had never clapped eyes upon.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• awful
• horrible
• miserable
• poor
• rotten
• second-rate
• shoddy
• terrible