rhizoverbBeta
DictionarysordidDirty and neglected
adjective

sordid

SOR-did/ˈsɔːrdɪd/

Filthy and degraded in condition.

Grime and stagnant water make the neglected washroom a sordid place.

A close view of a filthy, dilapidated washroom corner: a cracked basin with a brown grime ring, a leaking pipe dripping into stagnant dirty water, and a sodden rag among accumulated floor muck.
Etymology
sordLatinto be dirty or shabby
+idLatinhaving a quality

Being dirty supplies an image for moral baseness: conduct can be filthy without involving literal dirt. The Latin adjective already covered both physical foulness and the figurative sense of being vile or base.

In context

Storytime Haven62:47
Ah, how often do the poor Italians, those children of the sun, pine and die when shut up in our dismal, sordid streets! Dirt and squalor do not affect them
The Czar's Spy: The Mystery of a Silent Love 🕵️‍♂️💘 | William Le Queux Classic Spy Thriller

More examples

  • The tenants complain about the building's sordid hallways.
  • She refuses to sleep in such a sordid room.
  • A thorough cleaning transforms the sordid basement.

Forms

sordid

sordidness noun — The state of being filthy and degraded.

Similar words

squalid
Emphasizes severe dirt and neglect in living conditions.
filthy
Focuses on heavy dirt rather than an overall degraded condition.