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  1. squalid love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Dirty and wretched, as from poverty or lack of care. See Synonyms at dirty.
  2. adj. Morally repulsive; sordid: "the squalid atmosphere of intrigue, betrayal, and counterbetrayal” ( W. Bruce Lincoln).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Foul; filthy; extremely dirty: as, a squalid beggar; a squalid house.
  2. Rough; shaggy.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Extremely dirty and unpleasant.
  2. adj. Showing a contemptible lack of moral standards.
  3. n. zoology Any member of the Squalidae.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Dirty through neglect; foul; filthy; extremely dirty.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. foul and run-down and repulsive
  2. adj. morally degraded

Etymologies

  1. From Latin squalidus, from squalere ‘be rough or dirty’. (Wiktionary)
  2. Latin squālidus, from squālēre, to be filthy, from squālus, filthy. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “These innocent refugees were interned by Israel in squalid concentration camps such as Gaza and the West Bank.”

    Obama: Agent of Change? Well, Agent of Somethin’ « Antiwar.com Blog

  • “The only way that Mexicans can do it is by living in squalid, overcrowded apartments.”

    Immigration Reform, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

  • “Native Americans often live in squalid conditions and are sadly lacking in adequate political action committees.”

    Gov't offers to pay American Indians $1.4 billion for lost funds

  • “I guess he prefers the “hard bigotry” of poisoning children by forcing them to live in squalid conditions.”

    Think Progress » AP:

  • “Danton called the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from jail Friday night and read a statement that focused on his relationship with his estranged parents, outlining allegations of "constant physical and emotional abuse" and saying he was raised in squalid conditions.”

    USATODAY.com - Danton issues statement denouncing family

  • “In these savage fastnesses the pirates lived in squalid splendour.”

    This Country of Ours: The Story of the United States

  • “The people live in squalid dens, where there can be no health and no hope, but dogged discontent at their own lot, and futile discontent at the wealth which they see possessed by others.”

    Johnny Upright

  • “One week before the invasion, a Chavista columnist named Emilio Silva posted a call to action on Aporrea, a pro-government Web site, describing Jews as "squalid" - a term Chavez often uses to describe his opponents as weak - and exhorting Venezuelans to confront them as anti-government conspirators.”

    Breaking News: CBS News

  • “Today, much of Ahmedabad’s Muslim population remains sequestered in squalid relief communities that Modi once called “baby-making factories.””

    India’s New Face

  • “The old man took note of her and saw that she was lovely, but she had nothing on her head save a piece of camlet, and, marvelling at her beauty, he said to himself, “This charmer dazzleth men’s wits but she is in squalid condition, and whether she be of the people of this city or she be a stranger, I needs must have her.””

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night

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synonyms (3)

Words with the same meaning

  1. foul
  1. filthy
  1. fou

equivalents (4)

Other words for ‘squalid’

  1. dirty
  1. soiled
  1. unclean
  1. disreputable

same context (18)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. sordid
  2. shabby
  3. filthy
  1. wretched
  2. forlorn
  3. dismal
  1. disreputable
  2. dilapidated
  3. cheerless
  1. repulsive
  2. untidy
  3. drab
  1. contemptible
  2. ramshackle
  3. noisome
  1. dank
  2. windowless
  3. smelly

rhymes (2)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. solid
  1. stolid

reverse dictionary (22)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. squalid
  2. mangy
  3. den
  4. reechy
  1. slottery
  2. slum
  3. squalidity
  4. dingy
  1. flyblown
  2. seedy
  3. skid row
  4. fleapit
  1. gutter
  2. sordidly
  3. squalidly
  4. dirty
  1. dirt
  2. hole
  3. sordid
  4. gross
  1. squalidness
  2. filthy

tags (3)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. mouthfeel
  1. shark
  1. ccvvcvc

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Lists

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Comments

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  • chained_bear "He looked at the cuff of his shirt, which had been somewhat squalid before their long night in the greasy chaise, and which was now a disgrace to the ship."
    --Patrick O'Brian, The Letter of Marque, 146 Feb 29, 2008

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‘squalid’ has been looked up 2985 times, loved by 4 people, added to 70 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 17.