squalid
pronunciation
How to pronounce squalid in British English:
UK [ˈskwɒlɪd]
How to pronounce squalid in American English:
US [ˈskwɑlɪd]
-
- Adjective:
- morally degraded
- foul and run-down and repulsive
Word Origin
- squalid (adj.)
- 1590s, from Middle French squalide and directly from Latin squalidus "rough, coated with dirt, filthy," related to squales "filth," squalus "filthy," squalare "be covered with a rough, stiff layer, be coated with dirt, be filthy," of uncertain origin. Related: Squalidly; squalidness; squalidity.
Example
- 1. Before then some had no facilities , whereas others set up typically squalid immobile toilets .
- 2. Its commuter trains are crushed with passengers each morning ; its squalid slums hum with industry and ambition .
- 3. She is of the generation and hauteur that would think all mail order items are a bit squalid .
- 4. Curiously italy 's uneasy and in some ways incomplete unification is now re-emerging as an issue for mr berlusconi alongside his squalid legal cases .
- 5. In georgia , people who have been internally displaced for 15 years continue to live in squalid , overcrowded collective centres lacking insulation from the cold and functioning sewage systems .