grubby

adjective

ˈgrə-bē How to pronounce grubby (audio)
Definition of grubbynext
1
as in filthy
not clean clean off those grubby hands before you touch anything

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grubby That outsider status, some former advisors and close watchers of Carney say, is precisely what gives him room to maneuver, with Canadians seeing him as above the grubby backroom dealing of traditional politics. — Desiree Adib, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026 Walsh’s spaceship deviates from many of the vessels seen in Star Wars, as those ships are often dirty and grubby to emphasize their use and wear. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026 Run the exhaust fan during and after every shower, replace towels frequently, and clean the bathroom every week to keep it from getting grubby in summer. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 July 2026 The earliest of the Roman Romance novels dates from the first century CE, just as the first emperor Augustus ended the Republic once and for all and gathered the whole Roman empire into his own grubby little hands. — Literary Hub, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
  1. filthy
  2. dirty
  3. dusty
  4. cheap
  5. stained
  6. lame
  7. blackened
  8. pitiful
Adjective
  • And the women — exhausted, filthy, scared, and sometimes wounded themselves — rose to it every time.
    — Leah Garrett, New York Daily News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Los Angeles also struggles with an ongoing homelessness crisis — filthy encampments and rows of rusting RVs are a common sight in many neighborhoods.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of filthy
Adjective
  • Floor around the fryers, floor under and around the drive thru drink station and floor under and around stationary equipment is visibly dirty.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Using the same sponge for every surface and spill could be making your kitchen dirtier every time.
    — Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of dirty
Adjective
  • One tier down from Dithaba (both fiscally and geographically), Kapano is a few minutes’ walk down a dusty hill and follows a similar format, with four generous-sized rooms veering off the communal pool, bar, and alfresco deck dining area.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
  • From dusty heating vents to cluttered coat closets, these are the spots professional cleaners say deserve your attention now.
    — Brigitt Earley, Martha Stewart, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of dusty
Adjective
  • For context, the 27-inch ELF-SR2 sells for around ¥550,000 in Japan, so this is a dramatically cheaper way into Sony's 3D ecosystem, landing in the same ballpark as the $299 Looking Glass Go.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Nov. 2026
  • This year’s conflict has shown the relative ease with which cheap drones can slip past some of the world’s most expensive air defense systems and hit pipelines, ports, and ships.
    — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of cheap
Adjective
  • The stained glass had to first endure more destruction before its metamorphosis.
    — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Luckily the damage appears to be mostly cosmetic, and the beautiful balustrades, stained glass, and mahogany built-ins have survived the makeover unscathed.
    — Nora DeLigter, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of stained
Adjective
  • In the meantime, Congress may consider a ban on stock trading by members of Congress during the post-election lame-duck session.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Blumenthal and others hope to make an 11th-hour push on policy priorities in the lame-duck session before the end of the year.
    — Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of lame
Adjective
  • The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of blackened
Adjective
  • Nvidia is the pitiful, helpless giant, now revealed, according to the bears, to have just propped up an ecosystem for its own earnings, with a CEO now revealed to be a dubious character.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Yet Scudder, a progressive thirty-six-year-old real-estate analyst raised by lesbians on a purple-hull-pea farm in East Texas, assumed the post in 2025, and has been in a rush to reverse his party’s pitiful showings.
    — Jesús Rodríguez, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of pitiful

Browse Nearby Words

grubbing (about)
grubby
grubs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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