1
as in filthy
not clean
clean off those grubby hands before you touch anything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dirty
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a grubby reason to stop talking to a friend
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grubby
Meanwhile, in the grubby streets of Buffalo (hey, what did Buffalo do to deserve this!), Simone’s older sister Devon is getting home one morning after her second DUI.
—
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025
But watching a group of roughnecks on a rig in grubby overalls moving huge, long steel pipes, Dugan's smile begins to fade to a smirk.
—Kirk Siegler, NPR, 24 Apr. 2025
The Belvedere is one of the old buildings in Queens whose name conjures up a sense of grandiosity in our grubby city lives.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2025
Despite the grim proceedings and grubby environment, the spatial arrangement of the image brings to mind a theatre balcony packed with eager punters ready to consume their money’s worth of entertainment.
—Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025
But watching a group of roughnecks on a rig in grubby overalls moving huge, long steel pipes, Dugan's smile begins to fade to a smirk.
—Kirk Siegler, NPR, 24 Apr. 2025
The Belvedere is one of the old buildings in Queens whose name conjures up a sense of grandiosity in our grubby city lives.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2025
Despite the grim proceedings and grubby environment, the spatial arrangement of the image brings to mind a theatre balcony packed with eager punters ready to consume their money’s worth of entertainment.
—Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
Adjective
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Or find a less filthy campmate.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Away from a filthy Superdome and Convention Center where they had been holed up for days.—
Suzette Hackney,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The gentle, fragrance-free formula leaves even the dirtiest of clothes spotless.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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Ahead of Lipa’s arrival the team was busy setting up trays of extra dirty martinis, her preferred drink.—
Leigh Nordstrom,
Footwear News,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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With Onum folded into Falcon, logs stop being dusty records and start becoming live intelligence.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
There, water to sustain such a colony may be trapped less than a foot beneath the dusty red surface.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The efficiency and immediacy of space medicine may well influence healthcare innovation far beyond orbit, inspiring systems that are faster, cheaper, and more accessible.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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But because the signals are so faint, they can be drowned out by cheap jammers or replaced by counterfeit ones.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Besides looking unappetizing, using a mildewed, stained dish towel for drying rather defeats the purpose of washing dishes.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
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Hold the stained fabric taut and let the water flow from the back of the shirt to the front, allowing the water to push the stain away from the fabric rather than through it.—
Jolie Kerr,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Another main issue is that the power grind itself now being the endgame is no longer a good motivator to play, nor is the Tier system with 3s not much different than 4s or 5s, and all past weapons being somewhat lame now outside of that system entirely.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Paine proposed a lump sum payment of £15 (£2,306 in 2025) to everyone reaching the age of twenty-one and a £10 (£1,537 in 2025) annual pension for the blind and lame, as well as for those fifty and older.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
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In its time open, fueled by fans of its blackened mahi and buttery lobster rolls, owner Mike Smith has expanded his footprint, moving into a larger stall in the popular food hall — which has allowed for a menu expansion, as well.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
Orlando Sentinel,
6 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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The pitiful screaming of surviving family members can be heard.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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As del Toro sees it, Frankenstein’s pitiful creation has been cursed with life, cannot be killed (even bullets don’t stop him) and must face the same existential crisis that confronts us all.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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