seedy

[see-dee]

adjective

seedier, seediest 

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

Other Word Forms

• seedily adverb
• seediness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of seedy¹

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

Example Sentences

The rest tackle the seedy underbelly of fame.

From BBC

In The Modern World tackles the disillusionment of getting to Hollywood and discovering its seedy underbelly.

From BBC

But when his latest exposé for a local publication calls into question a prominent Tulsa family, his investigation takes him on a dangerous road from the city’s seedy underbelly to its highest corridors of power.

From Los Angeles Times

A scoop of cold chicken salad trembling like a secret inside its seedy bowl.

From Salon

Demand for money laundering is huge in Sihanoukville, a seedy gambling hub in Cambodia notorious for hosting massive scam operations.

From Salon

Related Words

• crummy 
• decaying www.thesaurus.com
• decrepit 
• dingy 
• grubby 
• scruffy 
• shabby 
• sleazy 
• squalid 
• tacky