See Also: sordid(dictionary)
sordid(dictionary)

sordid (iou)



sordid adjective. LME.
[French sordide or Latin sordidus, from sordere be dirty or foul: see -ID1.]
I.
Medicine. (Of discharges etc.) purulent, foul; (of an ulcer, wound, etc.) discharging matter of this kind. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
Of a place, condition, appearance, etc.: dirty, foul, filthy; mean and squalid. E17.
Harpers & Queen The couture world was very sordid backstage..the cabines were filthy.
a. Of a person etc.: dirty in habits or appearance. E17-E18.
sordid dragonet the dull brown female of the dragonet, Callionymus lyra, formerly regarded as a different species to the brightly coloured male.
b. Zoology. In the names of fishes etc.: of a dirty colour. Now rare. E19.
II. Of or befitting a low status; humble, menial. L16-M18.
Esp. of a situation: degraded, base, distasteful; sleazy, gross. Also, characterized by or proceeding from ignoble motives; spec. self-interested, mercenary. E17.
R. Ali They..sacrificed their own political principles..for the sake of sheer opportunism and sordid careerism. C. McWilliams The..sordid aftermath, involving jury-fixing, bribery, and murder.
b. Lacking in refinement; coarse, rough. M17.
sor'didity noun sordidness L16.
sordidly adverb M17.
sordidness noun the state or quality of being sordid; dirtiness, squalor; baseness, meanness: M17.