sordid

[sawr-did]

adjective

1. morally ignoble or base; vile.

   sordid methods.

   Synonyms: depraved, degraded
   Antonyms: honorable

2. meanly selfish, self-seeking, or mercenary.

   Synonyms: stingy, close, tight, avaricious
   Antonyms: generous

3. dirty or filthy.

   Synonyms: foul, unclean
   Antonyms: clean

4. squalid; wretchedly poor and run-down.

   sordid housing.

sordid

/ ˈsɔːdɪd /

adjective

1. dirty, foul, or squalid

2. degraded; vile; base

   a sordid affair

3. selfish and grasping

   sordid avarice

Other Word Forms

• sordidly adverb
• sordidness noun
• unsordid adjective
• unsordidly adverb
• unsordidness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sordid¹

1590–1600; from Latin sordidus, equivalent to sord(ēs) “dirt” + -idus -id ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of sordid¹

C16: from Latin sordidus, from sordēre to be dirty

Synonym Study

See mean ².

Example Sentences

The best evidence of that sordid policy comes from Kissinger’s own National Security Council files, including near-verbatim transcripts of his face-to-face negotiations with communist leaders.

Read more on Salon

In “Gotham at War,” Mr. Wallace takes us on a fascinating excursion into both the now lost yet somehow familiar human superstructure, and the sometimes sordid underbelly, of the city we know today.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Yet the boy’s yearning for family outweighs his sordid circumstances.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Roberts expressed his frustration at the time, writing that it “is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The president seemed eager to move on, calling the Epstein case "sordid, but it's boring" while also blaming Democrats for continuing to make it an issue.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• disreputable 
• nasty 
• shameful 
• sleazy 
• squalid 
• vile