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View synonyms for

dirty

[dur-tee]

adjective

dirtier, dirtiest 
  1. soiled with dirt; foul; unclean.

    dirty laundry.

    Synonyms: ,
  2. spreading or imparting dirt; soiling.

    dirty smoke.

  3. vile; mean; sordid; contemptible.

    to play a dirty trick on someone.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  4. obscene; pornographic; indecent.

    a dirty joke.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  5. undesirable or unpleasant; thankless.

    He left the dirty work for me.

  6. very unfortunate or regrettable.

    That's a dirty shame!

  7. not fair or sportsmanlike; unscrupulous.

    a dirty fighter.

  8. hostile, insulting, contemptuous, or resentful.

    She gave me a dirty look.

    He made a dirty crack about the cooking.

  9. (of a nuclear weapon) producing a relatively large amount of radioactive fallout.

  10. (of the weather) stormy; squally.

    It looks dirty to windward.

    Synonyms: , , ,
  11. Informal.obtained through illegal or disreputable means.

    dirty money.

  12. appearing as if soiled; dark-colored; dingy; drab.

    Synonyms:
  13. Slang.using or in possession of narcotics.

  14. Foreign Exchange.(of currency floats) manipulated, as by a central bank influencing or changing exchange rates (clean ).



verb (used with or without object)

dirtied, dirtying 
  1. to make or become dirty.

    Synonyms: , ,

adverb

  1. Informal.in a mean, unscrupulous, or underhand way.

    to play dirty.

  2. Informal.in a lewd manner.

    to talk dirty.

dirty

/ ˈɜːɪ /

adjective

  1. covered or marked with dirt; filthy

    1. obscene; salacious

      dirty books

    2. sexually clandestine

      a dirty weekend

  2. causing one to become grimy

    a dirty job

  3. (of a colour) not clear and bright; impure

  4. unfair; dishonest; unscrupulous; unsporting

  5. mean; nasty

    a dirty cheat

  6. scandalous; unkind

    a dirty rumour

  7. revealing dislike or anger

    a dirty look

  8. (of weather) rainy or squally; stormy

  9. (of an aircraft) having projections into the airstream, such as lowered flaps

  10. (of an explosive device) modified to cause radioactive contamination Compare clean

  11. slangto be offended by or be hostile towards

  12. a despicable person

  13. informalintimate secrets, esp those that might give rise to gossip

  14. slangdishonest behaviour

    1. an obscene word

    2. something that is regarded with disapproval

      federalism is a dirty word

  15. unpleasant or illicit activity

  16. informalto behave meanly or unkindly towards

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to make or become dirty; stain; soil

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • dirtily adverb
  • dirtiness noun
  • ˈ徱پ adverb
  • ˈ徱پԱ noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dirty1

First recorded in 1520–30; dirt + -y 1
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. do (someone) dirty, to treat unfairly or reprehensibly, as by cheating or slandering.

In addition to the idioms beginning with dirty, also see down and dirty; wash one's dirty linen in public.
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Synonym Study

Dirty, filthy, foul, squalid refer to that which is not clean. Dirty is applied to that which is filled or covered with dirt so that it is unclean or defiled: dirty clothes. Filthy is an emphatic word suggesting something that is excessively soiled or dirty: filthy streets. Both dirty and filthy can refer to obscenity: a dirty mind, a filthy novel. Foul implies an uncleanness that is grossly offensive to the senses: a foul odor. Squalid, applied usually to dwellings or surroundings, implies dirtiness that results from the slovenly indifference often associated with poverty: a squalid tenement.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“I speak perfect English. I also speak perfect Spanish. I’m bilingual, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be picked out, like, ‘This guys seems Latino; this guy seems a little bit dirty.’

From

“I speak perfect English. I also speak perfect Spanish. I’m bilingual, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be picked out, like ‘This guys seems Latino; this guy seems a little bit dirty.’

From

It's something worse: good old-fashioned 20th-century fascism, as dirty and ugly as it ever was.

From

In response, Ukraine said that Russia was playing "dirty tricks" and manipulating the facts.

From

It calls the contents of the sewage sludge a "dirty secret" and demands that Environment Secretary Steve Reed take action.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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