sleazy

[ slee-zee, sley-zee ]

/ ˈsli zi, ˈsleɪ zi /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sleazy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, slea·zi·er, slea·zi·est.

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.

Nearby words

Origin of sleazy

1635–45; (def 3) of obscure origin (probably unrelated to Silesia other than by folk etymology); sense of defs 1, 2 (first attested 1941) perhaps represent a distinct word

Related formsslea·zi·ly, adverbslea·zi·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sleazy

Or as Joey, the sleazy, besieged used car salesman in Cadillac Man.
Robin Williams, Hollywood’s Grand Jester, Is Dead at 63|Marlow Stern|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And that is this sleazy rabbit hole in its most perfect summation.
The B Is Back: The Benghazi Hearings Are Bullsh*t|Michael Tomasky|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How can she wax poetically about soiling herself at parties and not get branded as sleazy trash, a la Ke$ha?
How Jennifer Lawrence Took Over Hollywood. (It’s Not Just Because of Her Charm.)|Kevin Fallon|December 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When the ship docks, the “property” is scooped up by a sleazy slave merchant (Paul Giamatti), and sold at auction.
‘12 Years a Slave,’ Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender, Is Mesmerizing|Marlow Stern|August 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The right-wing press will traffic in all kinds of sleazy rumors the instant she catches cold.
The Ageist Attack on Hillary|Michael Tomasky|July 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He encountered a sleazy justicary who stitched up shady deals in the back rooms of cafs.
Tartarin de Tarascon|Alphonse Daudet
If too large, on the other hand, the work is apt to be sleazy.
Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet|Anonymous
The rest that they bring is silks, very poor and sleazy, except some silk which is brought in raw or spun into thread.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume VIII (of 55), 1591-1593|Emma Helen Blair
Now I am mortally afraid of rats and mice, and what I had touched had the sleazy feel of frayed silk.
A Woman Named Smith|Marie Conway Oemler
Wearily the woman began to pull about her shoulders a wrinkled, sleazy wrap.
Linda Lee, Incorporated|Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for sleazy

sleazy

/ (ˈsliːzɪ) /

adjective -zier or -ziest

sordid; disreputablea sleazy nightclub

thin or flimsy, as cloth

Derived Formssleazily, adverbsleaziness, noun

Word Origin for sleazy

C17: origin uncertain

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

Word Origin and History for sleazy

sleazy

adj.

1640s, "downy, fuzzy," later "flimsy, unsubstantial" (1660s), of unknown origin; one theory is that it is a corruption of Silesia, the German region, where thin linen or cotton fabric was made for export. Silesia in reference to cloth is attested in English from 1670s; and sleazy as an abbreviated form is attested from 1670), but OED is against this. Sense of "sordid" is from 1941. Related: Sleazily; sleaziness.

A day is a more magnificent cloth than any muslin, the mechanism that makes it is infinitely cunninger, and you shall not conceal the sleazy, fraudulent, rotten hours you have slipped into the piece, nor fear that any honest thread, or straighter steel, or more inflexible shaft, will not testify in the web. [Emerson, "The Conduct of Life," 1860]