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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Cape Canaveral is no dusty history tour.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
-
No amount of inner toughness would have convinced a customer to bring in a dusty rug in May 2020.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Space Marines are attempting to reclaim Kronus from the filthy xenos on the planet, leading a heroic charge into a massive Ork army as the Necrons rise again.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The woman was taken to the Fort Worth jail, by then best described as an old, filthy, rat-infested hole in the basement of city hall.—
Kevin Foster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Marchessault made it 3-0 after another greasy food item, a piping hot pizza, was served up by Drew Doughty.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Soapy water is her go-to for scrubbing away greasy gunk.—
Lori Keong,
Architectural Digest,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Handout/United Hatzalah Television network Channel 12 showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky from the site.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The bathrooms are spacious and modern, with black tiles and super soft robes.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Customers will keep fighting back with dirty returns, unused reservations and hostile reviews.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
-
About 20 miles southwest of Indianapolis, Mooresville residents report finding dirty water filters turning a disconcerting brown.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
-
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
-
Jesus is a zhlubby failson, Mary is a flirtatious blonde housewife, Joseph is the horny stepdad who stepped up, and Judas is a sleazy con man.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
-
This is a bonkers early film from the master of sleazy thrillers, Brian De Palma, and one of the few great movies proudly set on Staten Island.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
However, the economy adding 68,000 jobs per month isn’t too shabby by some estimates.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
-
In April 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns organized a student strike to protest the shabby conditions and inadequate education at her segregated Black high school in Prince Edward County, Virginia.—
Jonathan Entin,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuzzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuzzy. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
