seedy
Americanadjective
adjective
-
shabby or unseemly in appearance
seedy clothes
-
(of a plant) at the stage of producing seeds
-
informal not physically fit; sickly
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seedy
Explanation
When a place is seedy, it's sleazy, run-down — not the kind of place you'd take your mom. The East Village of New York was once known for being seedy, but now it's safe for children of all ages. It's a mystery how the word seedy came to mean darkly rundown, slummy, and seamy, but it probably came from the appearance of flowers after they've shed their seeds. That's when they start to lose their color and eventually die. You'll find seedy used to describe places like dive bars, brothels, and those sections of town where dealers ply their drugs. Certain writers, such as Dennis Cooper and even Charles Dickens, are fascinated by the seedy underbelly of life in big cities, in scenes populated by wretched people and other outcasts.
Vocabulary lists containing seedy
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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This Week In Culture: January 11–17, 2020
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
Capp notes, "Even in London's seedy underworld, a hat felt essential."
From Science Daily • May 7, 2026
The full force of Lawrence Sher’s cinematography, Karen Murphy’s production design and Hildur Guðnadóttir’s orchestral score is fabulous, combining to make something seedy, moody and extravagant.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026
By calling his museum’s large theater the Moral Lecture Room, he hoped to distance his venue from the seedy theaters of the time.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026
There might be some who have had enough of all these seedy headlines and do not want any more Andrew all over their Christmas dinner.
From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025
He looked so seedy I wondered what Miss Love, or even Aunt Loma, had ever seen in him.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
