scummy
Americanadjective
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consisting of or having scum.
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Informal. despicable; contemptible.
That was a scummy trick.
adjective
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of, resembling, consisting of, or covered with scum
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dirty, unpleasant, or nasty
Etymology
Origin of scummy
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.
See Examples For:
“Bunny” This East Village indie by debut director Ben Jacobson is a scummy gem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
Those with their credibility in question include “the 17-year-old at issue in the investigation” and Gaetz’s scummy ex-friend who’s cooperating with the feds.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2022
Listen, spin docs: Quit rebranding pols who’ve acted scummy!
From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2022
In “432 Park Avenue, Manhattan,” which depicts a supertall residential tower that may be more an investment storehouse than an actual home, a little scummy foam jiggles on the water’s surface.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
In the abandoned ornamental garden, Rahel, watched by lolling dwarfs and a forsaken cherub, squatted by the stagnant pond and watched toads hop from stone to scummy stone.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
It was a macho thing: 'My contact is scummier than your contact.'
From Reuters ● Jul. 16, 2011
It would be cool if people could refrain from being their absolute scummiest, occasionally.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2022
Dish towels are some of the scummiest things in your kitchen.
From Time ● Jul. 14, 2017
Starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as the kind of comedically frayed problem-solvers found at the scummiest pulp’s logical conclusion, the film looks to reclaim the magic of Black’s comedy/mystery hybrid Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 1, 2016
Stocky paparazzi, wearing the same cargo-shorts-black-logo-tee uniform they wear on the scummiest corners of Hollywood Boulevard, lug their gear down the sidewalk in search of that perfect shot to sell to an Italian tabloid.
From The Verge ● May 15, 2015
Since then, as often as he has time, he goes to bathe in the scummiest parts, and then comes and tells me all about it with any amount of circumstantial evidence.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, April 15, 1914 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
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.
