sleazy
Americanadjective
-
contemptibly low, mean, or disreputable.
sleazy politics.
-
squalid; sordid; filthy; dilapidated.
a sleazy hotel.
-
thin or poor in texture, as a fabric; cheap; flimsy.
a sleazy dress;
a sleazy excuse.
adjective
-
sordid; disreputable
a sleazy nightclub
-
thin or flimsy, as cloth
Other Word Forms
- sleazily adverb
- sleaziness noun
Etymology
Origin of sleazy
First recorded in 1635–45 sleazy for def. 3; of obscure origin; probably unrelated to Silesia; first recorded in 1941 sleazy for defs. 1, 2; perhaps a distinct word
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.
A judge bounces the notorious plaintiffs firm from the J&J trial for sleazy behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Rather than risk a military confrontation, they forced American troops to play the role of the sleazy kidnapper sneaking in windows.
From Salon • Jan. 21, 2026
Meanwhile, it would only be another two decades before a new cadre of rock writers, hungry for their own version of sleazy, glamorous rock privilege, manifested the Strokes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
Rockstar also revealed the Leonida Keys, the industrial Ambrosia region, sleazy Port Gellhorn and the mountainous Kalaga National Park.
From BBC • May 6, 2025
"Easy for you to say. What if she decides she needs money two years from now and she rats me out to some sleazy supermarket tabloid? Then what? Then I'm screwed, that's what."
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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.
