slovenly
pronunciation
How to pronounce slovenly in British English:
UK [ˈslʌvnli]
How to pronounce slovenly in American English:
US [ˈslʌvnli]
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- Adjective:
- negligent of neatness especially in dress and person; habitually dirty and unkempt
Word Origin
- slovenly (adj.)
- 1510s, "low, base, lewd," later "untidy, dirty" (1560s), from sloven + -ly (1). Related: Slovenliness; also in this sense was slovenry (1540s), which OED reports in common use early 17c.
Example
- 1. It says that your colleagues are slovenly and that the company has outsourced its cleaning to underpaid cleaners .
- 2. He did not mind that the apprentices were young ; he minded that they were slovenly and unskilled , and too many .
- 3. The sweeping steps that rise from the harbour to the statue of the city 's greatest and best-loved governor , armand , duc de richelieu , are overshadowed by an ugly modern ferry terminal ; the grand old hotels are slovenly and ill-run .