sloven

[ sluhv-uh n ]

/ ˈslʌv ən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sloven ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is habitually negligent of neatness or cleanliness in dress, appearance, etc.

a person who works, acts, speaks, etc., in a negligent, slipshod manner.

Nearby words

slough, slough off, slovak, slovakia, slovakian, sloven, slovene, slovenia, slovenly, slow, slow burn

Origin of sloven

1400–50; late Middle English sloveyn, perhaps < Middle Dutch slof careless (Dutch slof careless, sloven to toil) + -inne feminine noun suffix

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

Examples from the Web for sloven

Keinohoomanawanui, a sloven, one persistently unclean, p. 88.
Hawaiian Folk Tales|Various
I was just finishing breakfast; I hadn't done my hair; if you must know, I was rather a sloven at that time.
The Tower of Oblivion|Oliver Onions
Then Kakuhihewa told them the whole story of the light seen in the mountains, and of the wishes of Kalelealuaka and the Sloven.
Hawaiian Folk Tales|Various
Johnson defended Kit Smart, the sloven, (mockery of a name,) having himself no great predilection for clean linen.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine--Volume 62, No. 386, December, 1847|Various

In France, a knave is dressed like a fop; and in the northern countries, like a sloven.
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|Henry Fielding

British Dictionary definitions for sloven

sloven

/ (ˈslʌvən) /

noun

a person who is habitually negligent in appearance, hygiene, or work

Word Origin for sloven

C15: probably related to Flemish sloef dirty, Dutch slof negligent

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

sloven

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sloven

Examples from the Web for sloven

British Dictionary definitions for sloven

sloven

noun

Word Origin for sloven