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
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
Subramanian also found that Combs’ argument that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is being held, did not warrant release.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squalor
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
Subramanian also found that Combs’ argument that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is being held, did not warrant release.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squalor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squalor
Noun
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Similarly, mold that is not treated may spread into and through the wall or ceiling and causing new staining to appear months or even weeks later.—
Timothy Dale,
The Spruce,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Even natural staining was preserved—crews deliberately left the rust and mineral stains (efflorescence) on the concrete.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Erdoğan’s speeches are full of practical advice about how to destroy the left, such as calling progressives lazy, impractical alcoholics funded by globalist lobbies and contrasting the efficiency of an imperial president with the messiness of parliamentary policymaking.—
Kaya Genç,
The Dial,
3 Feb. 2026
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Though the rope suggests tidy metaphors of unity, coherence, and formal integrity, a playful but insistent messiness effloresces in Simms’s entanglements, throwing any seeming wholeness into question.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squalor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squalor. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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