seedier; seediest
1
: containing or full of seeds
a seedy fruit
2
: inferior in condition or quality: such as
a
: shabby, run-down
seedy clothes
b
: somewhat disreputable
a seedy district
a seedy lawyer
c
: slightly unwell : debilitated
felt seedy and went home early
seedily adverb
seediness noun

Examples of seedy in a Sentence

He was wearing a seedy suit. a seedy area of the city
Recent Examples on the Web When Swayze’s Dalton arrives at the Double Deuce, the seedy joint he’s supposed to transform, the place is all brawling chaos (or, at least, the 1980s backlot version of it: an orgy of broken prop glass, corn-syrup blood, and stunt fights that look like stunt fights). Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024 Our setting is Berlin at the twilight of the Jazz Age, as the Nazis are gaining power, and the employees and regulars at a seedy cabaret are navigating their ever-changing world—and having a lot of fun doing it. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Mar. 2024 All that stuff that’s going on, the seedy underbelly. Melinda Newman, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 Each is mysteriously drawn to a light shop in a seedy neighborhood. Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Each is mysteriously drawn to a light shop that sits at the end of a seedy alleyway. Patrick Frater, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024 Although recorded at Brooklyn’s Gary’s Electric Studio, Here in the Pitch was inspired by Los Angeles’ seedy history. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024 Liman moves the action to the Keys, land of seedy behavior and myriad Florida Men, with a cast that includes Shrinking's Jessica Williams, The White Lotus' Lukas Gage, Broad City's Arturo Castro, and actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor, in his film debut. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 25 Jan. 2024 Prior to Trump’s ascension, conspiracy-laden messages were largely confined to the seedy cesspools of the web like 4chan and Infowars, where fringe hosts such as Alex Jones ranted to marginalized audiences. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'seedy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of seedy was in 1574

Dictionary Entries Near seedy

Cite this Entry

“Seedy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seedy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

seedy

adjective
seedier; seediest
1
: containing or full of seeds
a seedy fruit
2
: not being in good shape : shabby
seedy clothes
seediness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on seedy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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