Squalid
/ˈskwɒlɪd/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any member of the family Squalidae of dogfish sharks.
"Numerous diet studies on squalids have shown that members of this family tend to feed mainly on teleosts and cephalopods[…]"
Adjective
- 1 Extremely dirty and unpleasant.
"[...] Mythologists describe Pan the son of Mercury (who was the God of Speech) with the upper part like a man, and the lower like a beast, to signifie that Truth is fair and comely, but a Lye squalid and Deformed."
- 2 Showing a contemptible lack of moral standards.
"A squalid attempt to buy votes."
Adjective
- 1 foul and run-down and repulsive wordnet
- 2 morally degraded wordnet
Example
More examples"The refugees were living in a narrow, squalid backstreet."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin squalidus, from squalere (“to be rough or dirty”).