squalid
foul and repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy.
wretched; miserable; degraded; sordid.
Origin of squalid
1synonym study For squalid
Other words for squalid
Other words from squalid
- squal·id·ly, adverb
- squal·id·ness, squa·lid·i·ty [skwo-lid-i-tee], /skwɒˈlɪd ɪ ti/, noun
Words Nearby squalid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use squalid in a sentence
Waterborne diseases proliferated through streets of squalid, high-density tenements and poor sanitation.
In “Bag Man,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and journalist Michael Yarvitz have written a case study in how the democratic ideal of equal justice under the law collides with the squalid realities of America’s political system.
Vice President Agnew’s misdeeds, and the challenges of holding him accountable | Matthew Dallek | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostHis actions were cruel and vicious—and also squalid and contemptible.
So Mandela was painfully slow in denouncing the squalid dictatorship of Robert Mugabe.
Nelson Mandela Was Undeniably Great But He Doesn’t Need a Halo | Michael Moynihan | December 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the message belies the squalid reality of Sri Lanka under his rule.
Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka’s Reign of Terror | Kapil Komireddi | November 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Much of the communities swallowed by the expansion of the city and the construction of the Bois de Boulogne are squalid.
Charles Marville Captures the Rebirth of 1800s Paris in New Exhibition | William O’Connor | November 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThousands lost their homes and were resettled in squalid temporary camps.
Governor Street was just as dirty and squalid as any other tenement-house street in the poorer section of a middle-class city.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. MorrisonThe squalid survivors, as if they were not sufficiently miserable, raged fiercely against one another.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayDespite the squalid clothes of the peasants, there are many picturesque aspects of rural life.
Spanish Life in Town and Country | L. Higgin and Eugne E. StreetI to seek such horrid places, I to haunt with squalid Negroes, blubber-lips, and monkey faces!
The Book of Humorous Verse | VariousStaying hidden in that squalid room had made him wretched and homesick.
Frank Merriwell's Pursuit | Burt L. Standish
British Dictionary definitions for squalid
/ (ˈskwɒlɪd) /
dirty and repulsive, esp as a result of neglect or poverty
sordid
Origin of squalid
1Derived forms of squalid
- squalidity (skwɒˈlɪdɪtɪ) or squalidness, noun
- squalidly, adverb
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
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