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
When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts.
—
Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The fate of London now rests in Lamb’s grubby hands.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025
The upshot of this contempt is a season that layers hypocrisy as well as sanctimony over the grubby, tedious nihilism that made Dahmer so miserable to watch.
—Judy Berman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
Don Quixote is about refusing to see the world in its actual grubby reality; to rather gild it in the beauties of our own invention.
—Ed Simon
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The fate of London now rests in Lamb’s grubby hands.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025
The upshot of this contempt is a season that layers hypocrisy as well as sanctimony over the grubby, tedious nihilism that made Dahmer so miserable to watch.
—Judy Berman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
Don Quixote is about refusing to see the world in its actual grubby reality; to rather gild it in the beauties of our own invention.
—Ed Simon
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
Adjective
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The couple slept on a filthy mattress on the floor with their 4-year-old son, Stephano.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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The big comedy set pieces overwhelm Miller’s attempts at satire, but any movie that has Nicholson casually dropping filthy double (and single) entendres beneath arched eyebrows is worth a look.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The checklist for cleaning the kitchen was probably just washing dirty dishes, wiping down countertops, and mopping the floors.—
Elizabeth Brownfield,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
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Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.—
Shagun Khare,
Martha Stewart,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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People pour in from the dense warrens of India’s financial capital and from dusty villages thousands of kilometers away, all flowing towards the fortified, sea-facing Mumbai home of actor Shah Rukh Khan.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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Workers are startled when a jar tumbles out of a dusty box and rolls onto the ground.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have designed a new sodium-sulfur battery with higher power density and discharge capacity than before, enabling a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
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Fentanyl is cheap, compact, and lethal at microscopic doses, produced through decentralized networks designed to survive disruption.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Among them is the question of whether to use stained parts of the haversacks — possibly containing blood — on the straps’ reverse side, or to cut around them entirely.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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The stained glass traces a hierarchy from the current dean to the Crown and then to God.—
Rick Burton,
Sportico.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The flowers are the best, even if the leaves are lame and flop over.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 Oct. 2025
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Cut to Culhane doing lame bits with chopsticks as walrus teeth.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Here in his pitiful, mini Gaza where reasoning and logic struggle futilely.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
6 Jan. 2026
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Instead Tripp comes across as simultaneously pitiful and predatory, a fine line that Paulson was able to walk straight to the year-round Christmas store.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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