sleaze

noun

ˈslēz 

also ˈslāz

1

: sleazy quality, appearance, or behavior

also : sleazy material

2

: a sleazy person

Synonyms of sleaze

• pervert
• creep
• slimeball
• slime
• sleazeball

Examples of sleaze in a Sentence

some sleaze will try to make a buck off of this tragedy

a real sleaze who is constantly mooching off friends, and friends of friends

Recent Examples on the Web

Not that director Kate Dolan and her co-writer Rafael Jordan aren’t up to the task of crafting a slick erotic thriller reminiscent of ‘80s and ‘90s sleaze shockers, updated to the AI era to center on a fembot gone wild. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026

Matt Lucas and Marina Prior’s Thénardiers are boisterous and charming — more amiable sleazes than menacing scumbags, if that tracks. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 30 July 2026

In the last few years, a slew of secondhand trends have come and gone, from the Y2K renaissance, to an Indie sleaze’s revival (which never quite took off), to the recent burst of 1990s minimalism à la Calvin Klein and Prada. — Alexandra Hildreth, Vogue, 30 July 2026

In the first half of the album, Dean explores unstable characters—bearing some resemblance, perhaps, to their indie-sleaze peers—with both second-hand embarrassment and fascination. — Cassidy Sollazzo, Pitchfork, 13 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from sleazy

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sleaze

• sleaze factor

Rhymes for sleaze

• bees
• bes
• breeze
• cheese
• crees
• crise
• deas
• dees
• ease
• fees
• fleas
• flees