as in staining
very bad and dirty conditions
The family was living in squalor. I was shocked by the squalor of their surroundings.
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Recent Examples of squalor
The struggles against inhuman prejudice, against squalor, ignorance, and disease, have always owed a great deal to the determination and tenacity of women.
—
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
Within the mud, squalor and sickness of the contraband camps, so too came the casting away of the former body and an emergence of a fuller kind of selfhood.
—Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
But even past that, Tactics is directly about how the rich and powerful view the poor and weak as almost subhuman, practically delighting in the squalor and suffering normal people go through.
—Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
Gazans have lived in squalor for generations.
—Jeff Robbins, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squalor
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
Within the mud, squalor and sickness of the contraband camps, so too came the casting away of the former body and an emergence of a fuller kind of selfhood.
—Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
But even past that, Tactics is directly about how the rich and powerful view the poor and weak as almost subhuman, practically delighting in the squalor and suffering normal people go through.
—Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
Gazans have lived in squalor for generations.
—Jeff Robbins, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squalor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squalor
Noun
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By harnessing a particle accelerator to generate extraordinarily bright, coherent X-rays, the team was able to capture high-resolution internal anatomy in seconds, without the lengthy staining or other preprocessing steps often required for soft-tissue contrast in standard lab scanners.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Using chemical imaging techniques, researchers attempted to determine whether the staining was intentional or accidental.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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An earnest, has-a-costume-for-everything kind of guy, Daub is allergic to the greige and the dinge.—
Sandra Upson,
Wired,
18 Jan. 2021
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Dinges said the two crewmembers whose sleep remained steady -- even in the absence of conventional daylight -- were those who kept to a strict schedule and found other ways to control their biological clocks.—
Michael Nedelman,
CNN,
1 June 2017
Noun
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When assessing a hat's dirtiness, look for visible stains or sweat marks and treat only those areas with a soft, damp cloth and detergent rather than washing the entire hat.—
Olivia McIntosh,
Martha Stewart,
8 Feb. 2026
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However, its effectiveness in thoroughly cleaning depends on the degree of dirtiness.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Fennell continues to have a gift for exposing the sordidness of money and power.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Neither Eliot nor Jules suspected anything, and the ease of the deception added to its pleasing sordidness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Artificial intelligence is a poor substitute for the messiness of real human interaction, experts say, and that messiness is the point.—
Asuka Koda,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
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What made Bow relatable was the beautiful messiness of her life.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squalor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squalor. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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