SCUMMY Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

scummy

adjective

Definition of scummy

as in dirty

arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust the jury was disgusted by the scummy behavior of the defendant in the courtroom

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 scummy The Hapsburg Inspector General, the equivalent of the food inspector darkening the doorway of a scummy restaurant? — Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026 Clean outdoor water features with vinegar or other fungus-fighting ingredients to help prevent water from getting scummy. — The Spruce, 2 July 2026 Dane DeHaan excels as Cole, a scummy hacker who makes a living draining bank accounts. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 June 2026 The wild sci-fi elements, such as scummy aliens and wacky monsters, will likely remind audiences of a Marvel effort, namely Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026 Does that kind of discourse-friendly success override the fact that Euphoria is too young, too scummy, and too dumb to fit into the usual Emmy pattern? — Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026 Clean Glass Shower Doors Melt about half a cup of coconut oil and mix in a few drops of lemon juice to create a solution that will go to work on scummy glass shower doors and walls. — Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scummy

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

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 surge provided Mexican extruders with cheap aluminum from distorted markets, producing plant closures, layoffs and lost investment throughout the American aluminum extrusion industry.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 13 Nov. 2026
But short of such a turn — short of a bunch of other, cheaper states all but abandoning their programs — the legislature and the industry need to figure out more innovative solutions than just tinkering with credits around the margins.

— Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of cheap

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

Adjective

Surely, though, it is not lost on the audience that this play opens in the middle of a strikingly nasty political campaign to elect members of the Chicago school board, warring Democrats all.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Someone who hung up on your problem is unlikely to listen to a nasty critique and vow to reform.

— Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of nasty

Adjective

Their fearless leader is the relentlessly disgusting, but equally brilliant Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) who insults, cajoles, and gaslights his foot-dragging staff into feats of daring heroism.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Nov. 2026
Everyone starts tasting the varied, apparently disgusting, bottles.

— Alice Burton, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of disgusting

Adjective

The bat lay on its back, soggy and wretched, here in the waning hours of this terrible day.

— Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
Francis’ native Argentina, for its part, has had a wretched reckoning with abuse and victims there have been demanding action from the Vatican, including to address cases in which Francis was personally involved.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of wretched

Adjective

HinduPACT urged Hindus to remain vigilant and report any suspicious or hateful activity to local law enforcement.

— Emma Marsden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2026
Voters vehemently rebuked, with some important exceptions, Trump’s hateful policymaking, with Democrats taking both the house and the senate.

— Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of hateful

Browse Nearby Words

scumbags

scummy

scums

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“Scummy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scummy. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of scummy

adjective

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