as in dusty
severely lacking in cleanliness
My friend thinks that scuzzy dive bar has "character," but the smell alone is enough to keep me far away from that place.
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Recent Examples of scuzzy
Back in New York, following Marty’s unimaginable defeat in London, Abel Ferrara appears as a scuzzy street-level gangster who entrusts Marty and his taxi-driving best friend Wally (Tyler Okonma) with his near feral dog.
—
Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Dec. 2025
Knight convincingly takes us back to the grimy, scuzzy streets of 1880s East London for a showdown in and out of the boxing ring.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
Gorgeously textured and frequently very funny—Griffin’s wisecracking younger brother, Oren, is a scene-stealer—the book’s particular portrait of late-20th-century, upper-middle-class adolescence takes a generously wide angle, reveling in all the heady, scuzzy, confusing bits of coming of age.
—Vogue, 26 Dec. 2024
The safety curtain that greets audiences filing in for the third Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross depicts a set of steak knives, the infamous second prize in a contest for the highest sales figures among colleagues at a scuzzy Chicago real estate office.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for scuzzy
Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Dec. 2025
Knight convincingly takes us back to the grimy, scuzzy streets of 1880s East London for a showdown in and out of the boxing ring.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
Gorgeously textured and frequently very funny—Griffin’s wisecracking younger brother, Oren, is a scene-stealer—the book’s particular portrait of late-20th-century, upper-middle-class adolescence takes a generously wide angle, reveling in all the heady, scuzzy, confusing bits of coming of age.
—Vogue, 26 Dec. 2024
The safety curtain that greets audiences filing in for the third Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross depicts a set of steak knives, the infamous second prize in a contest for the highest sales figures among colleagues at a scuzzy Chicago real estate office.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for scuzzy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuzzy
Adjective
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Hues like blush and dusty rose pair well with sandy neutrals, soft grays, and even more saturated colors like teal and fuchsia.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
6 Feb. 2026
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Many objects are very dusty, many objects are located behind dust-rich regions of our own galaxy, and dust itself is a physical object made out of particles with a range of grain sizes.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This neighborhood, peopled almost entirely by the people who claim to have been driven from Poland and Russia, is the eyesore of New York and perhaps the filthiest place on the western continent.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Rodents, roaches, flies and knives stored in filthy places were among the myriad violations on this week’s Sick and Shut Down List of South Florida restaurants that failed state inspection.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Except the people sharing these messages weren’t disenfranchised young men with greasy hair and acne-scarred faces but moms just like me.—
Ej Dickson,
Rolling Stone,
6 Feb. 2026
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Ready to enjoy softer strands and skip the greasy feeling?—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Sánchez Arévalo has framed the film as a deliberate genre blend — thriller, drama, black comedy and Western — emphasizing that its resistance to easy labelling was central to the appeal.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
9 Feb. 2026
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The black outline at the neckline of the dress was contrasted by a soft, creamy color on the remaining fabric.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Yet, even as India remains wedded to the dirtiest fossil fuel, its coal consumption is roughly 40% of China’s at the same stage of development, Ember found.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Camperlab also experimented with bleaching, dirty tints and shades of pink.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
10 Feb. 2026
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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For an InstaCart ad directed by Spike Jonze, the Zoolander star and the jumpsuit-wearing flipper bust moves in Boone-ish getups for a sleazy, Italo-disco style music program.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Feb. 2026
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That arrangement was sleazy enough.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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At back was a shabby hearse with expired registration.—
Jesse Bedayn,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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Two fake firsts, seconds, and salary filler to get Anthony Davis and Trae Young is not too shabby.—
SportsDay Staff,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuzzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuzzy. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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