slatternly

1 of 2

adjective

slat·​tern·​ly ˈsla-tərn-lē 

1

disapproving : untidy and dirty through habitual neglect

… fifty unpainted and slatternly dwellings all fronting onto muddy roads.

—David Guterson

also : careless, disorderly

I am … slatternly; I seldom put, and never keep things in order; I am careless …

—Charlotte Brontë

2

disapproving

a

: of, relating to, or characteristic of someone who is sexually promiscuous

b

: of, relating to, or characteristic of someone who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay

slatternliness noun

slatternliness

2 of 2

noun

slat·​tern·​li·​ness

-lēnə̇s, 

-lin-

plural -es

: the quality, state, or condition of being slatternly

the room was … depressing from its slatternliness

—Samuel Butler †1902

Examples of slatternly in a Sentence

Adjective

the biography portrays the poet as a debauched scoundrel whose companions were slatternly women and not the chaste maids he celebrated in his lyrics

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

This diorama includes a brawny male wax figure wearing Pampers who is stretched in agony on a rack, alongside a slatternly brunette with a suggestively slit skirt who is being flogged. —John Phillips, Car and Driver, 9 Jan. 2023

An influential Peruvian industrialist named Enrique is photographed in flagrante amid a heap of slatternly prostitutes. —Dwight Garner, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2018

By sticking to Patti’s second-best status, and the deferred dreams of her slatternly mother, Barb (Bridget Everett), and her widowed, infirm grandmother, Nana (Cathy Moriarty), Jasper shows his condescension toward their toughness. —Armond White, National Review, 18 Aug. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

slatternly

adjective

slat·​tern·​ly -lē 

: untidy and dirty through carelessness

slatternliness noun