piggish

American  

[pig-ish] / ˈpɪg ɪʃ /

adjective

1. resembling a pig, especially in being slovenly, greedy, or gluttonous.

   piggish table manners.

2. (of food portions) indecently large.

3. stubborn.

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piggish British  

/ ˈpɪɡɪʃ /

adjective

1. like a pig, esp in appetite or manners

2. informal obstinate or mean

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Other Word Forms

• piggishly adverb
• piggishness noun

Etymology

Origin of piggish

First recorded in 1810–20; pig ¹ + -ish ¹

Explanation

Someone who's piggish is disagreeable and greedy. No one wants to be friends with the piggish kid at the party who shoves everyone else out of the way to grab all the candy from the piñata. This adjective is perhaps a little unfair to pigs, who eat a lot but rarely more than they need. Before the 20th century, a piggish person was "unclean or coarse," another insult to pigs, known to roll in mud in order to stay cool and screen their skin from the sun. Today, the word is more commonly used to mean "greedy."

Example Sentences

A couple of would-be thieves in Kentucky have been arrested for their alleged piggish behavior.

From Fox News • Nov. 19, 2019

The truth is piggish, entitled men exist in every walk of life.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2017

It shows a girl with long golden hair, sneezing so explosively that the torrential discharge has turned her nose into a piggish snout.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 3, 2017

Bermudez says she was driven to protest by the allegedly piggish behavior of men with whom she worked at the Transportation Security Administration headquarters across the street.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2016

I watched the baron’s piggish face chew open-mouthed on the sacrificial pig.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston