seamy

[see-mee]

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adjective, seam·i·er, seam·i·est.

unpleasant or sordid; low; disagreeable: the seamy side of life.
having, showing, or of the nature of a seam.

Origin of seamy

1595–1605; seam + -y¹; in transferred senses alluding to the unpresentable appearance of the inside of a garment, i.e., where the seams show

Related formsseam·i·ness, noun

Synonyms for seamy

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1. squalid, rough, coarse, nasty.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for seamy

disturbing, disreputable, unpleasant, nasty, sordid, bad, dark, degraded, disagreeable, disappointing, low, rough, squalid

Examples from the Web for seamy

Contemporary Examples of seamy

This is nudity as lifestyle, health, openness — not seamy or steamy.
Young, Hot, and Nude: Ryan McGinley’s Body Count
Tim Teeman
October 6, 2014
From college coaches to Herman Cain and now Bill Richardson, the seamy stories just keep on coming.
Bill Richardson, Herman Cain, Jerry Sandusky: Sex Scandal Saturation
Howard Kurtz
December 2, 2011
The seamy side of British democracy was appropriately symbolized.
Rupert’s See-No-Evil Tactics
Geoffrey Robertson
July 19, 2011
And the disclosure that Abedin is pregnant added an overlay of pathos to the seamy tale.
Weiner’s Last Words
Howard Kurtz
June 16, 2011
While some have sailed right past the seamy details, others have seen their careers damaged beyond repair.
Randy Quaid Is a Genius Actor—Honest!
Stephen Farber
July 1, 2010

Historical Examples of seamy

Suppose you come to see the seamy side of me—as you do of everybody?
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
She knew of life's seamy side as a theory; she could not grasp it as a fact.
Howards End
E. M. Forster
The seamy side of Santa Ysobel life's recorded in those books.
The Million-Dollar Suitcase
Alice MacGowan
Not but that we see the seamy side too—the depths as well as the heights.
The Preacher and His Models
James Stalker
In fact, he was familiar with this seamy side of Providence.
The Flaw in the Sapphire
Charles M. Snyder

British Dictionary definitions for seamy

seamy

adjective seamier or seamiest

showing the least pleasant aspect; sordid
(esp of the inner side of a garment) showing many seams

Derived Formsseaminess, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for seamy

adj.

c.1600, "least pleasant, worst," in figurative phrase seamy side, from seam + -y (2); the seamy side of a sewn garment being the less attractive, and thus typically turned in. The popularity of the figurative sense likely is due to its use by Shakespeare in "Othello" IV.ii.146: "Some such Squire he was That turn'd your wits the seamy-side without, And made you to suspect me with the Moore."