sloven

[ sluhv-uhn ]
See synonyms for sloven on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who is habitually negligent of neatness or cleanliness in dress, appearance, etc.

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

Origin of sloven

1
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. 2023

How to use sloven in a sentence

  • I've got a thousand-legged worm at the head of a pismire flush, and it serves us right, for a lot of slovens.

    Woodcraft and Camping | George Washington Sears (Nessmuk)
  • The decked-out dandies before the world are frequently the greatest slovens in domestic privacy.

    East Lynne | Mrs. Henry Wood
  • English girls are not all slovens, and nowadays decently bred Germans behave like other people at table.

    Home Life in Germany | Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick
  • But these same girls who look such slovens usually have stores of tidy well-made body linen and knitted stockings.

    Home Life in Germany | Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick
  • The slovens have left the lamp burning the whole nicht lang.

    The House with the Green Shutters | George Douglas Brown

British Dictionary definitions for sloven

sloven

/ (ˈslʌvən) /


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

Origin of sloven

1
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