sleazy

/ˈslizi/

/ˈslizi/

Other forms: sleaziest; sleazier; sleazily

Something that is sleazy is low and nasty. It’s a perfect word to describe characters like the sleazy door-to-door con men who cheat old ladies into selling them their jewelry at a deep discount.

Sleazy originally meant flimsy, but nowadays it’s only used to describe morally degraded people or places. Usually it refers to sexual behavior, but it is often associated with people trying to swindle others as well. It’s not as bad as perverse or criminal, which suggest that a line has been crossed. But sleazy people make you feel uncomfortable, for sure.

Definitions of sleazy

1. adjective

   morally degraded
   “sleazy characters hanging around casinos”

   “"sleazy storefronts with...dirt on the walls"- Seattle Weekly”

   synonyms: seamy, seedy, sordid, squalid

   disreputable

   lacking respectability in character or behavior or appearance
2. adjective

   of cloth; thin and loosely woven
   “the coat has a sleazy lining”

   synonyms:

   thin

   of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section
3. adjective

   of very poor quality; flimsy
   synonyms: bum, cheap, cheesy, chintzy, crummy, punk, tinny

   inferior

   of low or inferior quality