Synonyms of sordid

sordid

adjective

ˈsȯr-dəd 

1

as in filthy

not clean

he managed to rise above the sordid streets upon which he grew up

Synonyms & Similar Words

• filthy
• dusty
• dirty
• muddy
• blackened
• stained
• nasty
• black
• messy
• grimy
• dingy
• greasy
• grubby
• smudged
• smutty
• mucky
• soiled
• unclean
• polluted
• foul
• grungy
• begrimed
• sloppy
• chaotic
• grotty
• bedraggled
• sullied
• uncleanly
• cruddy
• draggled
• befouled
• besmirched
• contaminated
• messed
• impure
• unsanitary
• bemired
• confused
• insanitary
• tainted
• littered
• squalid
• unwashed
• cluttered
• sleazy
• slovenly
• muddled
• unsterile
• untidy
• raunchy
• disordered
• jumbled
• shabby
• uncleaned
• unkempt
• scruffy
• disheveled
• unsterilized
• rumpled
• defiled
• germy
• disarranged
• sooty
• scuzzy
• skanky
• fuliginous
• gunky
• disarrayed
• mussy
• mussed
• crocked
• collied

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unsullied
• clean
• pure
• immaculate
• spotless
• stainless
• clear
• unstained
• unsoiled
• spick-and-span
• limpid
• neat
• ultraclean
• cleanly
• orderly
• tidy
• cleaned
• cleansed
• perfect
• shiny
• groomed
• bleached
• untouched
• ordered
• bright
• combed
• wholesome
• sparkling
• whitened
• purified
• flawless
• unpolluted
• untainted
• unspotted
• unblemished
• virgin
• undefiled
• taintless

2

as in vile

not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency

a sordid affair involving bribery and corruption in high places

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vile
• dirty
• nasty
• immoral
• cruel
• vicious
• ignoble
• corrupt
• ignominious
• contemptible
• detestable
• despicable
• wretched
• dishonorable
• bad
• low-down
• execrable
• evil
• snide
• mean
• paltry
• base
• low-minded
• wicked
• low
• foul
• currish
• wrong
• iniquitous
• depraved
• perverted
• reprehensible
• debauched
• shameful
• dissolute
• miscreant
• debased
• degenerate
• villainous
• disgraceful
• censurable
• disreputable
• discreditable
• unscrupulous
• unprincipled
• blameworthy
• atrocious
• blamable
• unethical
• unworthy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• noble
• high
• virtuous
• lofty
• honorable
• moral
• ethical
• straight
• honest
• venerable
• upright
• righteous
• good
• scrupulous
• excellent
• just
• principled
• exemplary
• right
• proper
• high-minded
• commendable
• respectable
• decent
• reputable
• blameless
• guiltless
• seemly
• right-minded
• irreproachable
• incorruptible
• uncorrupted
• unerring

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective sordid differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of sordid are abject, ignoble, and mean. While all these words mean "being below the normal standards of human decency and dignity," sordid is stronger than all of these in stressing physical or spiritual degradation and abjectness.

a sordid story of murder and revenge

Where would abject be a reasonable alternative to sordid?

While in some cases nearly identical to sordid, abject may imply degradation, debasement, or servility.

abject poverty

When might ignoble be a better fit than sordid?

The synonyms ignoble and sordid are sometimes interchangeable, but ignoble suggests a loss or lack of some essential high quality of mind or spirit.

an ignoble scramble after material possessions

When can mean be used instead of sordid?

The words mean and sordid can be used in similar contexts, but mean suggests small-mindedness, ill temper, or cupidity.

mean and petty satire

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sordid

The industry had weathered a storm of growing public suspicion over sordid details coming from the entertainment industry in the wake of producer William Desmond Taylor’s murder and the rape/murder trials and acquittal of comedian Fatty Arbuckle. —Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026

Letts’s play is a sordid, spiky creature, a two-hour descent into a pit of paranoia within the dingy walls of an Oklahoma motel room. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026

The recent presidential pardons of figures who tried to overturn the 2020 election are part of a broader effort to rewrite one of the most sordid episodes in recent memory. —Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 27 Nov. 2025

By now her sordid life of crime is somewhat familiar, or should be. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025