Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
968,372,801 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

sordid

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
sor·did  (sôrdd)
adj.
1. Filthy or dirty; foul.
2. Depressingly squalid; wretched: sordid shantytowns.
3. Morally degraded: "The sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils" James Joyce. See Synonyms at mean2.
4. Exceedingly mercenary; grasping.

[Middle English sordide, festering, purulent, from Latin sordidus, dirty, from sordre, to be dirty.]

sordid·ly adv.
sordid·ness n.

sordid
Adjective
1. dirty, depressing, and squalid: a sordid backstreet in a slum area
2. relating to sex in a crude or unpleasant way: the sordid details of his affair
3. involving immoral and selfish behaviour: the sordid history of the slave trade [Latin sordidus]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.sordid - morally degraded; "a seedy district"; "the seamy side of life"; "sleazy characters hanging around casinos"; "sleazy storefronts with...dirt on the walls"- Seattle Weekly; "the sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils"- James Joyce; "the squalid atmosphere of intrigue and betrayal"
disreputable - lacking respectability in character or behavior or appearance
2.sordid - unethical or dishonest; "dirty police officers"; "a sordid political campaign"
corrupt - lacking in integrity; "humanity they knew to be corrupt...from the day of Adam's creation"; "a corrupt and incompetent city government"
3.sordid - foul and run-down and repulsive; "a flyblown bar on the edge of town"; "a squalid overcrowded apartment in the poorest part of town"; "squalid living conditions"; "sordid shantytowns"
dirty, soiled, unclean - soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime; "dirty unswept sidewalks"; "a child in dirty overalls"; "dirty slums"; "piles of dirty dishes"; "put his dirty feet on the clean sheet"; "wore an unclean shirt"; "mining is a dirty job"; "Cinderella did the dirty work while her sisters preened themselves"
4.sordid - meanly avaricious and mercenary; "sordid avarice"; "sordid material interests"
acquisitive - eager to acquire and possess things especially material possessions or ideas; "an acquisitive mind"; "an acquisitive society in which the craving for material things seems never satisfied"

sordid
adjective 1. base, degraded, shameful, low, vicious, shabby, vile, degenerate, despicable, disreputable, debauched << OPPOSITE honourable
adjective 2. dirty, seedy, sleazy, squalid, mean, foul, filthy, unclean, wretched, seamy, slovenly, slummy, scungy Austral., N.Z. festy Austral. (slang) << OPPOSITE clean
Translations
Spanish sordid [ˈsɔːdɪd] adj [place etc] → sórdido; [motive etc] → mezquino
French sordid [ˈsɔːdɪd] adjsordide
German sordid [ˈsɔːdɪd] adj (dirty) → verkommen;
(wretched) → elend

Italian sordid [ˈsɔːdɪd] adjsordido/a

?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Philip was carried away by the sordid intensity of it.
Every work is to be esteemed mean, and every art and every discipline which renders the body, the mind, or the understanding of freemen unfit for the habit and practice of virtue: for which reason all those arts which tend to deform the body are called mean, and all those employments which are exercised for gain; for they take off from the freedom of the mind and render it sordid.
The gallant Perseus, a son of Jupiter, was the first whaleman; and to the eternal honor of our calling be it said, that the first whale attacked by our brotherhood was not killed with any sordid intent.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.