1
as in filthy
severely lacking in cleanliness
The squalid boarding house was overrun with rats.
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2
as in vile
not moral or honest
The whole squalid affair will rightly end the politician's public career.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of squalid
Migrants in Libya are routinely arbitrarily detained and placed in squalid detention centers where they are subjected to extortion, abuse, rape and killings.
—
Renata Brito, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2025
Jon, meanwhile, holes up in his squalid quarters surrounded by takeout containers and dirty clothes while hooked onto a cheap-looking VR game that hardly inspires the wonderment in us it’s supposed to in him.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025
With most of Gaza’s population driven into massive, squalid tent camps, Palestinians are desperate to get back to their homes, even though many were destroyed or heavily damaged by Israel’s attacks.
—Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The 3-week-old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, doctors said, deaths that underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli offensives.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for squalid
Renata Brito, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2025
Jon, meanwhile, holes up in his squalid quarters surrounded by takeout containers and dirty clothes while hooked onto a cheap-looking VR game that hardly inspires the wonderment in us it’s supposed to in him.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025
With most of Gaza’s population driven into massive, squalid tent camps, Palestinians are desperate to get back to their homes, even though many were destroyed or heavily damaged by Israel’s attacks.
—Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The 3-week-old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, doctors said, deaths that underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli offensives.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for squalid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squalid
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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As del Toro sees it, Frankenstein’s pitiful creation has been cursed with life, cannot be killed (even bullets don’t stop him) and must face the same existential crisis that confronts us all.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
30 Aug. 2025
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Over 1,000 murdered whilst queuing for aid, starved due to their siege, whilst pitiful amounts of aid delivered by a sham agency controlled by Israel.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
20 Aug. 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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The death of Pope Francis, sadly, has not escaped the attention of these truly contemptible criminals.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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At the time, some of LeBron’s critics saw this as contemptible.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Natural gas fulfills much of this need, while coal is dirtier, expensive, and increasingly irrelevant for electricity production.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Although the space station is without dirt and mud, astronauts’ clothes get dirty from sweat during their daily exercise.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And putting it on her fingers and in your babies mouth is disgusting.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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Because there are more aliens aboard the Maginot than just a Xenomorph, Hawley adds a few new wrinkles to the usual disgusting Alien progression of face-hugger to chest-burster.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squalid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squalid. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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