sordid

American  

[sawr-did] / ˈsɔr dɪd /

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 British  

/ ˈsɔːdɪd /

adjective

1. dirty, foul, or squalid

2. degraded; vile; base

   a sordid affair

3. selfish and grasping

   sordid avarice

---

Related Words

See mean ².

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of sordid

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

Example Sentences

I know the impression I’m leaving: that the word was a bad word, sordid in nature, that I’m too embarrassed to say it out loud to him.

From Literature

For a growing number of online sleuths, there is a booming business in peddling outlandish answers to those and other sordid questions raised by the trove of newly released files.

From The Wall Street Journal

Instead, they portrayed Dr. Kane as selflessly helping a young girl rise from her sordid profession by providing a proper education—polishing his image as a kind of super-generous superhero.

From Literature

Long before his role in the Epstein case came to light, Brunel already had a sordid reputation in the fashion world.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bridger was described by those who knew him as "always confident, courteous and charming" but when police seized his computer, a sordid secret was revealed.

From BBC

Related Words

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