lousier; lousiest
1
informal
a
: bad or poor
She got lousy grades in high school.
I like the work, but the pay is lousy.
He was a lousy husband.
: of poor quality : not good or skillful
They did a lousy job.
a lousy cook/driver
a lousy performance
—often + at or withHe is lousy [=terrible] at sports/math/cooking.
She's lousy with kids.
b
: not well or healthy
We could see that she was feeling lousy. [=feeling ill]
He drank too much and felt lousy the next morning.
c
: not happy or pleased
I feel lousy [=sorry, bad] about what happened.
d
: not pleasant
We've been having lousy [=rotten] weather.
It's a lousy, rainy day.
e
: not right or proper
That's a lousy way to treat a friend.
f
—used to make an angry statement or description more forceful
That lousy bastard!
2
: infested with lice (
Cite this Entry
“Lousy.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/lousy. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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