1
as in filthy
not clean
clean off those grubby hands before you touch anything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dirty
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a grubby reason to stop talking to a friend
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grubby
The Belvedere is one of the old buildings in Queens whose name conjures up a sense of grandiosity in our grubby city lives.
—
Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2025
Despite the grim proceedings and grubby environment, the spatial arrangement of the image brings to mind a theatre balcony packed with eager punters ready to consume their money’s worth of entertainment.
—Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
Unbrushed hair and slightly grubby sweatshirt?
—Claire Cohen, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2025
With a few strokes of JFK’s pen, the NFL was effectively granted an exemption to the Sherman Antitrust Act and college football could rest easy knowing that the pros wouldn’t be allowed to get their grubby meat hooks on Saturdays in autumn.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2025
Despite the grim proceedings and grubby environment, the spatial arrangement of the image brings to mind a theatre balcony packed with eager punters ready to consume their money’s worth of entertainment.
—Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
Unbrushed hair and slightly grubby sweatshirt?
—Claire Cohen, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2025
With a few strokes of JFK’s pen, the NFL was effectively granted an exemption to the Sherman Antitrust Act and college football could rest easy knowing that the pros wouldn’t be allowed to get their grubby meat hooks on Saturdays in autumn.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
Adjective
-
Williams was downright filthy from May 7 through the end of June, posting a 1.45 ERA.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
5 Aug. 2025
-
The kitten was in a sad condition: overheated, wounded, filthy, and covered in fleas and feces.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 July 2025
Adjective
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Beyond discomfort and potential allergic reactions, a dirty mattress can also affect the quality of your sleep itself.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
11 Aug. 2025
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Inspection reports revealed problems with mold, water leaks, dirty equipment and rooms, meat debris stuck on walls and equipment, various bugs, and, at one point, puddles of blood on the floor.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Spectacular scenery certainly helps, as the story traverses from dusty Andean plains to harrowing mountain roads to capital city La Paz.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
3 Aug. 2025
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Axel Hunnicutt stood by the side of a dusty dirt road in California’s high country rangeland and howled like a wolf.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Yet 80% of charging happens not at public plazas but in garages, where electricity is cheap and parking is certain.—
Carlos Georgescu,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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Instead, save big by buying store brands, or private labels, which are usually cheaper.—
Gordon Ebanks,
CNN Money,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
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My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.—
Tim Neville,
Outside Online,
23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
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In its time open, fueled by fans of its blackened mahi and buttery lobster rolls, owner Mike Smith has expanded his footprint, moving into a larger stall in the popular food hall — which has allowed for a menu expansion, as well.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
Orlando Sentinel,
6 Dec. 2022
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There are no glamorous furnishings — just a French window, its blackened panes suggesting the dark of night.—
Christopher Knight,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Oct. 2022
Adjective
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This negative sentiment was also felt on both sides of the Atlantic, given their pitiful plummet in popularity.—
Brie Stimson , Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
25 July 2025
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For their part, France produced a pitiful display of football, which deserved nothing less than elimination.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
20 July 2025
Adjective
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Officials recommend that volunteers wear closed-toe shoes and clothes that can get muddy, the release said.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
31 July 2025
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While the handful of '90s Virtual Boy developers did their best under this limitation, the hardware's red-on-black graphics have aged even worse than the often muddy grayscale found on the original Game Boy.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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