sleaze

[sleez]

noun

Slang.

1. a contemptible or vulgar person.

2. a shabby or slovenly person.

3. a sleazy quality, character, or atmosphere; shoddiness; vulgarity.

4. sleazy behavior, content, appearance, or the like.

sleaze

/ sliːz /

noun

1. sleaziness

2. dishonest, disreputable, or immoral behaviour, especially of public officials or employees

   political sleaze

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleaze¹

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from sleazy

Example Sentences

The Liberal Democrats welcomed the plans as "the right step after years of Conservative sleaze which did so much damage to standards in public life".

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The clothes are no longer made in L.A., but curiously, the indie sleaze billboard campaign has returned to the city.

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“The exhibition tracks the pursuit of glamour and sleaze that I was looking for on Hollywood Boulevard, and eventually, improbably, ending up in a Paris museum,” Owens writes in the show notes.

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"So I'm sitting there, minding my own business. They invite me into this Signal chat and now they're attacking me as a sleaze bag, I don't even get it."

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There have been slips and accusations of sleaze.

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Related Words

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• muck 
• mud 
• soil 
• stain