1
: foul or putrid matter
especially
: loathsome dirt or refuse
2
a
: moral corruption or defilement
b
: something that tends to corrupt or defile
Examples of filth in a Sentence
He emerged from the cellar covered in filth.
the filth of the slaughterhouse
living in filth and squalor
Recent Examples on the Web
Prideaux depicts Gauguin’s ensuing poverty without romance—the cold, the filth, the food insecurity.
—
Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 30 May 2025
Mather meant moral filth, of course, but for the holistic Puritans—obsessed with clean bedclothes and linens, afraid of the body’s unruly leakiness, full of cleaner-than-thou contempt for their Indigenous neighbors—spiritual and physical hygiene were one.
—Andrew Kay, Harpers Magazine, 28 May 2025
But Wachter had a hunch that a great painting lay beneath the filth.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2025
Residents of that Wilmington street petitioned and pleaded and then resorted to blocking off the street briefly to the trucks that shook the ground and spewed the filth through their neighborhood.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for filth
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Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 30 May 2025
Mather meant moral filth, of course, but for the holistic Puritans—obsessed with clean bedclothes and linens, afraid of the body’s unruly leakiness, full of cleaner-than-thou contempt for their Indigenous neighbors—spiritual and physical hygiene were one.
—Andrew Kay, Harpers Magazine, 28 May 2025
But Wachter had a hunch that a great painting lay beneath the filth.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2025
Residents of that Wilmington street petitioned and pleaded and then resorted to blocking off the street briefly to the trucks that shook the ground and spewed the filth through their neighborhood.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for filth
Cite this Entry
“Filth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/filth. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
filth
noun1
: disgusting dirt or waste
2
: something that tends to disgust, offend, or dirty
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