uncleanly
1 Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uncleanly1
before 950; Old English unclǣnlīce (not recorded in ME). See un- 1, cleanly
Origin of uncleanly2
before 1000; Middle English onclenlich, Old English unclǣnlīc. See unclean, -ly
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.
See Examples For:
They were soon removed, partly because of complaints they were being used in an "uncleanly manner".
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2022
The dim flicker of gas, often subdued and debilitated by grim and uncleanly globes, was supplanted by a steady glare, bright and mellow, which illuminated interiors and shown through windows fixed and unwavering.
From Slate ● Nov. 22, 2013
As the bedbug prefers an uncleanly environment, he is taboo as a subject of polite conversation.
From Time Magazine Archive
If you're going to let uncleanly scruples like that stand in your way, you'd better retire to the poet's corner, and stay there.
From The Quality of Mercy by William Dean Howells
She was mentally contrasting him with the raw, uncleanly, unlicked cub, which mainly constituted her experience of the animal hight ‘boy’ of the same age.
From The Red Derelict by Bertram Mitford
But unbeknown to most bathers, the boiler heating the water runs on a fuel with the uncleanliest of origins: pellets recycled from soiled adult diapers.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2021
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.
