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.
“Asmodeus” is a bewildering incantation about the coupling of poetry and squalor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
By rubber-stamping a fourth term despite these toxic scandals, football's governing bodies are showing they are content to sit in rotten squalor rather than strive for something better.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Critics once argued that capitalism bred poverty and squalor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 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
Kira followed his pointing finger with her eyes and found the same gaunt woman who had eyed them suspiciously from the squalor of the cott.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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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.
