scuzzy
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of scuzzy
First recorded in 1965–70; expressive coinage; compare similar phonetic components of scum, fuzzy, lousy, sleazy
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:
He must love the hectic and scuzzy New York classics that launched a generation of great filmmakers in the ’60s and ’70s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
It’s natural to view the temporary mixing of Willard R. Abbott’s earnest teachers with the scuzzy simpletons who barely run the worst bar in America as, um, entirely unnatural.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2025
Songs from “Hyperdrama,” like the four-on-the-floor thump of “Neverender” and the relentless “Generator,” fit seamlessly with “D.A.N.C.E.,” the buoyant single that earned its first Grammy nominations, and the scuzzy strut of “Phantom.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
The Birthday Party favored a rancorous spirit, writing scuzzy songs and descending into mayhem at every turn.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
I know they’re just for decoration, but they make me feel safe from all the scheming, scuzzy fire-starters.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Justin Tranter, a fellow pop songwriter who also started in scuzzier bands, called Ms. Geiger a “musician’s musician” — one whose coming out helps to shift the landscape for queer creators.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2018
So it's strange to find her latest release, Birds, darker and scuzzier sounding, as if it were an original '60s session tape rediscovered in an old suitcase.
From Time Magazine Archive
It worked – lost in the scuzziest corners of the Italian movie industry, Gilderoy feels like the human embodiment of his hometown.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 23, 2012
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.
