squalid
Americanadjective
-
foul and repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy.
- Synonyms:
- unclean
-
wretched; miserable; degraded; sordid.
adjective
-
dirty and repulsive, esp as a result of neglect or poverty
-
sordid
Synonym Usage
See dirty.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of squalid
1585–95; < Latin squālidus dirty, equivalent to squāl ( ēre ) to be dirty, encrusted + -idus -id 4
Explanation
Squalid things appear neglected, or morally repulsive in nature, like a frat house after a semester of hard partying and zero cleanup. Squalid comes from the Latin word squalere, meaning to “be covered with a rough, scaly layer.” A few word evolutions later and we have squalid, a word that describes something distasteful, dirty, unattractive, and as unkempt in appearance as the dry, scaly skin of an armadillo, or a room filled with pizza boxes, flickering light bulbs, and stained wallpaper. Squalid behavior is dirty, too, like cheating on a test and lying about it.
Vocabulary lists containing squalid
Refugee
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The Kite Runner
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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.
A springer spaniel who was one of 84 dogs living in "squalid conditions" in a family home has been given a second chance at life.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The police tailed his children to a remote, squalid farmhouse where they stood alone in the courtyard for no apparent reason.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
His main base of operations was a series of squalid apartments in New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
After three years of devastating conflict, about 80% of Gaza’s roughly 2.1 million people are now displaced, with about half of them living in squalid, rodent-infested encampments where they are reliant on humanitarian aid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Our own mistakes are the reason we’re behind now,” he tells the players in the stuffy, squalid darkness.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
