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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grubby
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
Continue reading … ROYAL RIFT – King Charles haunted by Prince Andrew as 'grubby' duke humiliates monarchy again.
—Fox News, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grubby
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
Continue reading … ROYAL RIFT – King Charles haunted by Prince Andrew as 'grubby' duke humiliates monarchy again.
—Fox News, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
Adjective
-
The room was filthy, prescription bottles around the room, one bed with no sheets.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
-
Photograph: Chris Null As anyone who’s ever stuck a cotton swab in there knows, your ear canal is a filthy, disgusting place.—
Christopher Null,
Wired News,
22 June 2025
Adjective
-
To properly load a dishwasher for maximum cleaning power, place dishes in the dishwasher with the dirty side facing the jets, with taller items around the outside.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
25 June 2025
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The wider sweeps are stressing the capacity of the detention system, where detainees have reported moldy food, dirty towels and no changes of clothes for more than a week at a time.—
Rachel Uranga,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
This record is a gentle correction for listeners who think of blues as either dusty or loud.—
Philip Martin,
Arkansas Online,
19 June 2025
-
Workers in overalls walk down dusty streets that turn into dusty tracks before petering out to nowhere.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
These Golden Hour Savings deals bring these loafers’ price tag down to as low as $52, which is much cheaper than most leather (or vegan leather) loafers.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
26 June 2025
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However, thimerosal is more common elsewhere in the world for various multi-dose vaccine vials, which are cheaper than the single-dose vials more commonly used in the US.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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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For example, the 1890s saw the Royal Observatory hire women for the first time, who worked for a pitiful wage as 'computers' to examine and refine observational data.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
22 June 2025
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There is nothing deficient, unnatural or pitiful about being single, as we’re often led to believe.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Furthermore, stormy weather in Stockholm meant the muddy pitch would favour the hosts’ more pragmatic style.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
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Earlier pressings of this record sounded muddy and boxed in, but here, the piano sparkles and the guitar cuts.—
Philip Martin,
Arkansas Online,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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