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as in flimsy
being of a material lacking in sturdiness or substance these cheap, sleazy curtains would do a poor job of blocking those wintertime blasts of cold air

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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 sleazy The movie is set in the palpably sleazy East Village of the late Nineties, and the music aligns with that vibe. Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025 Based on May Cobb's novel of the same name, the debut season premiered last month and captured the zeitgeist for its sleazy, twisty fun, eliciting a ton of buzz online — none the more so than for Akerman's questionable wig. EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025 Advertisement Imrie, Mirren, Ackie, Brosnan, and Kingsley work to solve a murder Courtesy of Netflix David Tennant plays a sharp, sleazy villain. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025 Her next stop is to see Tommy (Michael Kelly), a sleazy figure from her past who stirs up disturbing memories. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sleazy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sleazy
Adjective
  • Which makes Shelley Joseph today’s poster gal for the corrupt double standards in the Massachusetts legal system.
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Trump is running the most brazenly corrupt administration in modern history.
    Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The Chinese retailer, known for its range of cheap ultra-fast-fashion clothing and criticisms of its labor and environmental practices, is nestled on the sixth floor of a more than century-old building in Paris, a city famous for high-end fashion and a recent green push.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The other side of this has been the money in the industry’s pivot first to cheaper talk shows, which don’t innovate enough to merit much critique, and now to a second pivot to turn those interview shows into video series, which makes podcasts more friendly on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • These characters are so thin, their storylines so flimsy and their motives so underbaked that there’s no recognizable emotion underlying any of it, and thus no feeling to be provoked by watching it.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Miami essentially wants to will a power running game into existence when SMU’s flimsy pass defense suggested a different approach had a greater chance of success.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Earlier this year, Saiz Bilbao arrived at a dilapidated building still under construction, its entrance via a seemingly endless stretch of stairs that led to a window-less hostel.
    Georgiana Ralphs, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Now, charred and dilapidated buildings dot the small city center.
    NPR, NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Udo Kier is the perverted master of ceremonies in this three-ring circus of deviancy from director Paul Morrissey, which takes Frankenstein’s romantic necrophilia and distills it to its glistening, taboo essence.
    Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
  • In a searing rebuttal days before the British socialite was convicted for procuring victims for Epstein’s abuse in December 2021, Comey spoke to the perverted duo’s reasons for targeting teens from disadvantaged backgrounds.
    Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 17 July 2025
Adjective
  • The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.
    Sean Gentille, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Nvidia's shares have climbed 12-fold as the AI frenzy propelled the S&P 500 to record highs, igniting a debate on whether frothy tech valuations could lead to the next big bubble.
    Niket Nishant, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Surrounding that and protected by an outer shell is the cytoplasm, a frothy liquid of protein-synthesizing ribosomes, energy-producing mitochondria, energy-storing lipids, and the like.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Few sights are as heart-wrenching as a neglected animal in need.
    Allison Moses, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Those plans were later abandoned during the pandemic and the house joined Denver’s neglected and derelict building list in 2024.
    Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sleazy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sleazy. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

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