seedy

[ see-dee ]

adjective

, seed·i·er, seed·i·est.

1. abounding in seed.
2. containing many seeds, as a piece of fruit.
3. gone to seed; bearing seeds.
4. poorly kept; run-down; shabby.
5. shabbily dressed; unkempt:

   a seedy old tramp.

6. physically run-down; under the weather:

   He felt a bit seedy after his operation.

7. somewhat disreputable; degraded:

   a seedy hotel.

seedy

/ ˈsiːdɪ /

adjective

1. shabby or unseemly in appearance

   seedy clothes

2. (of a plant) at the stage of producing seeds
3. informal.
   not physically fit; sickly

Derived Forms

• ˈseedily, adverb
• ˈseediness, noun

Other Words From

• seedi·ly adverb
• seedi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of seedy¹

First recorded in 1565–75; seed + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, just because lawmakers are responding to natural disasters with environmental votes doesn’t mean they aren’t seeing other, seedier kinds of legislative opportunities from the same event.

From FiveThirtyEight

Aykroyd drunk in a dirty Santa suit perfectly captures the seedy irony at the heart of this commercial holiday.

From Time

Even if the site wasn’t “seedy” and offered cancer treatment advice as well as investment advice, there would be a severe lack of identity.

From Search Engine Watch

Everybody knows the Hollywood pawnshop tropes — the creepy guy smoking behind the counter in a seedy corner store, taking a stolen television off someone’s hands, probably so they can go buy drugs.

From Vox

But beneath all the shiny esteem, the 25-year-old Wright led a seedy double life.

From The Daily Beast

ME3M was like online sex without the sex: seedy, dehumanized, segmented, and awkward—yet often still erotic.

From The Daily Beast

For the rest of you, here's a seedy little fact: Men of pretty much any age are mainly attracted to 20-year-olds.

From The Daily Beast

Gotham may mature into a thrilling mystery that explores corrupt cops and the seedy underworld.

From The Daily Beast

The Boulevard Carnot, the seedy, downtrodden street that leads out of town, proved the point on my last night there.

From The Daily Beast

There was a seedy old chest, and an old hair trunk with the hinges broke.

From Project Gutenberg

He appears to be seedy, but has been quite hopeless as Sirdar down in the base camp and is without authority.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a seedy individual, with a face that was horribly pockmarked.

From Project Gutenberg

Devilish cold,' he added pettishly, 'standing at that door, wasting one's time with such seedy vagabonds!'

From Project Gutenberg

He did not extend his hand, but stood still, in his seedy clothes and his coat buttoned to his chin, to hide his lack of a shirt.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• crummy
• decaying
• decrepit
• dingy
• grubby
• scruffy
• shabby
• sleazy
• squalid
• tacky