squalor
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of squalor
1615–25; < Latin squālor dirtiness, equivalent to squāl ( ēre ) to be dirty, encrusted + -or -or 1
Explanation
If something is extremely dirty, filthy, or just plain disgusting, it falls into the territory of the noun squalor. We’re not just talking about a messy room. We’re talking about a grimy dungeon filled with rats and roaches. Squalor comes from the Latin squalere, which means “to be filthy.” This word often refers to living conditions as in, “after the disaster, the people were living in squalor.” It can also describe a city or a building that is in general disrepair such as “ever since the budget cuts, people have moved away and the city has fallen into squalor.”
Vocabulary lists containing squalor
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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.
They mourned the loss of entertainment industry jobs and despaired over homeless people living in squalor.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Cavalcanti’s, no less brilliant in its execution, looks through the glass darkly, with painful scenes of long-ago squalor and depravity that sadly echo our own.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The court heard that Pereira made allegations of Home Office "corruption", claimed illegal immigrants were employed by the government department and those in the system were living in "squalor".
From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026
Our chickens, on the other hand, are treated abominably, packed in tightly with their germy brethren, raised in squalor, pumped with hormones, and only made clean at the end.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2026
I had always felt a certain warmth with my mother, even when we had lived in squalor; but I felt none here.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Definitions 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.
