slovenly
Americanadjective
-
untidy or unclean in appearance or habits.
- Synonyms:
- slatternly, slutty
- Antonyms:
- neat
-
characteristic of a sloven; slipshod.
slovenly work.
- Synonyms:
- disorderly, loose, careless
- Antonyms:
- careful
adverb
adjective
-
frequently or habitually unclean or untidy
-
negligent and careless; slipshod
slovenly manners
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slovenly
Explanation
Slovenly is what your great aunt Mehitabel might call you if you came to high tea without a necktie. It means "messy or unkempt," but is a word you probably won't hear messy or unkempt people using. Slovenly has meant messy or unkempt since the 1500s, but it had a brief heyday before that of meaning "low or base." This class association remains embedded in the word — someone who uses the word slovenly today is most likely also going to raise his or her pinky while drinking from a cup of tea.
Vocabulary lists containing slovenly
Grade 10, List 1
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The Call of the Wild
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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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.
Plus, as sleepwear styles become more fashionable, it’s hard to think of them as strictly for the slovenly set.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026
In that instance, the public were given the chance to choose the overall winner, opting for the term describing "unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly or greedy" behaviour.
From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025
Oscar winner Gary Oldman’s slovenly Jackson Lamb runs Slough House, where bickering loser agents compete to redeem their trashed reputations.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2025
Last year's Oxford word of the year was "goblin mode", another slang term describing "unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy" behaviour.
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2023
Charles began to keep one slovenly woman after another.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
