slattern
Americannoun
-
a slovenly, untidy woman or girl.
-
a slut; harlot.
noun
Other Word Forms
- slatternliness noun
- slatternly adjective
Etymology
Origin of slattern
First recorded in 1630–40; perhaps akin to dial. slatter to splash, spill < ?
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.
This is definitely the feel I’m going for – not slattern.
From The Guardian • Jan. 20, 2021
The woman who was a natural comic slattern in England People Very Nice became an unwavering, intelligent presence in Tribes.
From The Guardian • Jun. 8, 2013
In Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre,” Jane’s school friend Helen Burns is constantly in trouble, regarded by many of the teachers as a slattern and a “dirty, disagreeable girl.”
From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2010
Jean Smart is a good comic actress, but what can you do when you're written as a one-dimensional slattern, held in contempt by your hipster child?
From Time • Jan. 8, 2010
"Then I must apologize for having called you a slattern, Lady Una," she said, as if each word of it were bitter sawdust that she spat from her mouth.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
