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.

In 1963, when Katharine Whitehorn wrote her famous column about sluttishness, the word had a precise meaning: sloppiness, especially of the domestic variety.

From The Guardian • Aug. 28, 2014

To him the vulture means idleness; the kite, rapacity; the raven, detraction; the white owl, hypochondria; the common owl, ignorance; the magpie, chattering talk; and the hoopoe, sluttishness and evil report.

From The Cathedral by Huysmans, J.-K. (Joris-Karl)

Dust lay thick about him; he had grown accustomed to it, as to many another form of sluttishness.

From The Whirlpool by Gissing, George