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Synonyms

sleaze

American  
[sleez] / sliz /

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 British  
/ sliːz /

noun

  1. sleaziness

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

    political sleaze
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sleaze

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from sleazy

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.

Top American newscasters, including Chris Cuomo, did their part to keep perpetuating the sleaze.

From Salon • Aug. 20, 2025

“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.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2025

"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."

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2025

And so far, the familiar patina of hired-goon griminess and comical sleaze is unmistakable.

From Slate • Nov. 26, 2024

I always knew ReelTok was sleazy, but this is a whole new level of sleaze.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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.