sleazy
English
Etymology
Origin obscure. Possibly a corruption of Silesia, through a word meaning “Silesian cloth”. Silesia used to be the most important location of Germany’s weaving industry.
Pronunciation
Adjective
sleazy (comparative sleazier, superlative sleaziest)
- Marked by low quality; inferior; inadequate.
- raunchy or perverted in nature; tastelessly sexual
- 2000, Stephen D. Dighton, Locked In, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 226:
- Nancy knew it was a sleazy movie because the channel's logo appeared in the lower right corner of the screen. This satellite station only showed sleazy films at this time of the night. Actually its selection of films was trashy at any time, but the after-eleven fare was especially so. (..) It's garbage, a step or two removed from pornography.
- untrustworthy
- 2007, Milton T. Burton, The Sweet and the Dead, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 1:
- The Gold Dust was a sleazy place, a clip joint with crooked gambling tables in the back and a fleet of B-girls who would give you a few minutes' vapid conversation and a peek at the tops of their breasts if you bought them a three-dollar drink ...
- (dated) thin and flimsy
Synonyms
- (tastelessly sexual): skeezy
- (untrustworthy): unreliable, questionable, sketchy, shady, slimy
Derived terms
Usage notes
The following example shows the first three senses in a single sentence:
Sleazy John may be interpreted as untrustworthy, perverted or both in this case.
Translations
Marked by low quality; inferior; inadequate
|
Dishonorable; base; vulgar; raunchy
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.