1
as in filthy
not clean
he managed to rise above the sordid streets upon which he grew up
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of sordid
Both have inspired a literature far out of proportion to the sordid events, perhaps because each holds a certain moral voltage: evidence that even the invulnerable can be undone, that anything can be fixed, and that anyone can be killed.
—
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
The 2000 death of Mike Williams is the subject of a sordid new ABC News Studios docuseries, Mr. & Mrs. Murder.
—EW.com, 31 July 2025
About two weeks after a man was shot and killed in his car at a Miami-Dade flea market, deputies caught the alleged murderer on Thursday and uncovered a sordid tale of a five-year affair that led to the murder.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 26 July 2025
Sophie is eventually arrested for the crime, which is why the series spent so much time on her sordid past.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sordid
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
The 2000 death of Mike Williams is the subject of a sordid new ABC News Studios docuseries, Mr. & Mrs. Murder.
—EW.com, 31 July 2025
About two weeks after a man was shot and killed in his car at a Miami-Dade flea market, deputies caught the alleged murderer on Thursday and uncovered a sordid tale of a five-year affair that led to the murder.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 26 July 2025
Sophie is eventually arrested for the crime, which is why the series spent so much time on her sordid past.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sordid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sordid
Adjective
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Away from a filthy Superdome and Convention Center where they had been holed up for days.—
Suzette Hackney,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Alexander pulled out a baby-blue melodica to lay down a filthy ska rhythm for his band.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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What's more, monsters like Alex Jones, the vile conspiracy theorist, claimed the shooting never happened and that the families of the victims were actors.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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His motives seemed as vile as his actions.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Use the floor brush for stairs, the crevice tool for windowsills and couch cushions, and the dusting brush for dusty surfaces.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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Poor Ventilation Along with the increase in moisture and humidity, another leading cause for a dusty bathroom is poor ventilation.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Wearing shoes in the home tracks soil from outside, leaving floors dirtier and requiring more frequent sweeping.—
Jolie Kerr,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Sep. 2025
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Laptop screens get spattered, smeared, dusty, and dirty from frequent use.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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On a recent morning, sweaty workers unloaded cargo boats by hand, carrying crates of beer, sacks of rice, and bags of flour on their shoulders 100 yards up the muddy riverbank to trucks waiting on the wharf.—
John Otis,
NPR,
7 Sep. 2025
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In 1943, when the Mississippi tore away from its banks and charted a fierce and muddy course across America’s central farmlands, Gerard’s grandfather, Harold Gerard, had already fled the waters once.—
Julia Rendleman,
ProPublica,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Sean Gardner/Getty Images This comes just weeks after Zilisch suffered a nasty fall from his car in Victory Lane at Watkins Glen, which resulted in a broken collarbone.—
Lydia Mee,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
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Parents pushing, people cutting lines, nasty attitudes everywhere, especially outside and in Sephora.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Ladapo said the decision was not reached according to the data, but instead on his view that vaccine mandates are immoral and outside the scope of the government’s authority.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
7 Sep. 2025
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Even the paper’s biggest triumph—which, without giving too much away, brings it into direct conflict with its toilet-paper stablemate—involves a farcically immoral compromise that tramples the church-state divide between news and product sales (and, worse, isn’t all that funny).—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sordid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sordid. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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