1
as in filthy
not clean
after working in the factory all day, his clothes are very dirty
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
some radio stations refused to play the song because of the dirty lyrics
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in turbulent
marked by wet and windy conditions
they were unknowingly sailing into dirty weather
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4
as in foul
not being in accordance with the rules or standards of what is fair in sport
the school is known for the dirty football it plays
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in nasty
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
accused the other campaign of playing dirty tricks
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6
as in cheap
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
laying off longtime employees was a dirty way for the company to reduce labor costs and save money
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in corruptible
open to improper influence and especially bribery
a movie about a dirty cop paid to protect a mafioso
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as in to stain
to make dirty
she dirtied her new sneakers when she splashed in the puddle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in illegally
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Recent Examples of dirty
James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Outdated perceptions persist, and many view manufacturing as dirty, dangerous, and limiting career growth.
—Mark Rayfield, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Sarah Felbin, SELF, 23 May 2025
Crème Brûlée Steve Granitz Crème brûlée is like butter blonde, but dirtied up a bit for a browned, warm tint.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dirty
Verb
The love songs that set its mood are unreservedly sexy and most of all funny — including that dirty ‘Wood’ — expressing genuine affection and delight.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Outdated perceptions persist, and many view manufacturing as dirty, dangerous, and limiting career growth.
—Mark Rayfield, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Adverb
And for nights when you can't be bothered to dirty a million dishes just to get dinner on the table, there's an air fryer from Ninja.
—Sarah Felbin, SELF, 23 May 2025
Crème Brûlée Steve Granitz Crème brûlée is like butter blonde, but dirtied up a bit for a browned, warm tint.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dirty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirty
Adjective
-
Trying to expose the trafficking, abuse, and the filthy networks that protect the wealthy and powerful puts you in danger.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Unitree claims that the G1 is made to handle difficult, filthy, and repetitive jobs in a variety of settings, including at homes, factories, and hospitals.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Banners or signs may not be commercial in nature or obscene, or cause any disturbance to other fans.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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Workers described incidents of verbal and physical abuse, including reports from women workers who said they had been manhandled and subjected to obscene remarks and threats.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This rapid descent keeps the drone stable in turbulent air and minimizes wind interference.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
-
But the recent shift from season 50 to season 51, which premiered on Saturday, was even more turbulent.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
StudioCanal, which produces the Paddington movies, and Paddington Bear’s rights holders are suing Avalon after the British producer’s Spitting Image series on YouTube depicted Paddington as a foul-mouthed podcast host.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
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Three days earlier, Rocchio had ended Cleveland’s regular season with a three-run blast off the right-field foul pole, a walk-off homer that propelled the club into postseason mode.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
And what about all that nasty mother stuff?—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
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The wedding ballads can wait; this nasty jam should still get the dancefloor packed in the meantime.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This World Cup wasn’t going to be cheap to attend, but these memories for life cost so much that swathes of people can’t even toy with the idea.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Utility executives and analysts have said clean energy projects are crucial to help power new data centers and factories, because they can be built quickly and produce electricity that is relatively cheap.—
Michael Copley,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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From fragmented records to corruptible datasets and the general noise across social media, agentic systems are facing a trust and truth crisis at the most fundamental level.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Iran prefers weak allies over strong ones, and corrupt and corruptible governments over ones that respond to their citizens’ needs.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Skipping regular washes—Letting white towels sit too long between washes gives body oils, makeup, and mildew more time to settle into the fibers and stain them permanently.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
-
For years, the fashion industry’s color palette has come at a steep price—plastic-heavy pigments, toxic dyes and dirty processes that stain more than fabric.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dirty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirty. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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