grubby

adjective

ˈgrə-bē How to pronounce grubby (audio)
Definition of grubbynext
1
as in filthy
not clean clean off those grubby hands before you touch anything

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 grubby James Whitaker’s cinematography leans into a blue-hued, grubby aesthetic that gives the film a gritty charm, while touches like the chant that goes along with the film’s title card perfectly add to its aesthetic charms. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2026 Stroheim, who shot on location, delivers a grungy and grubby story, his fanatical eye for grim detail producing a portrait of ordinary misery that assumes symbolic force. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026 Welcome to the grubby reality of international diplomacy! — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2025 The earliest of the Roman Romance novels dates from the first century CE, just as the first emperor Augustus ended the Republic once and for all and gathered the whole Roman empire into his own grubby little hands. — Literary Hub, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
  1. filthy
  2. dirty
  3. dusty
  4. cheap
  5. stained
  6. lame
  7. blackened
  8. pitiful
Adjective
  • Margera tried to soothe the pain by submerging his fresh brand in a tub of filthy farm water, which resulted in a life-threatening staph infection that landed him in the hospital.
    — Sezin Devi Koehler, Entertainment Weekly, 26 June 2026
  • Outside the Lineage warehouse Thursday morning, the smell of heavy smoke was already being replaced with that of spoiling food and filthy water.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of filthy
Adjective
  • Or stands proudly athwart a county that has long demonized it as too dirty, too crime-ridden — in other words, too Latino.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • At the center sits a giant mound of dirty work clothes, and hidden speakers play a nonstop whisper of the laborers’ names.
    — Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2026
Definition of dirty
Adjective
  • All 182 guest rooms were given a fresh coat of dusty rose paint, new custom carpet, furniture and upgraded bathrooms.
    — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • At the same time, her eyes were free of the ultimate Millennial marker, winged liner, and colored with a melting pot of brown, bronze and dusty gray shadow, visible in her waterline, too.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 2 July 2026
Definition of dusty
Adjective
  • Microchips are relatively cheap and are required for every pet in Los Angeles County over 4 months old.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
  • Prove Your Claims With Evidence In a market flooded with AI capabilities, claims are cheap, and every launch sounds the same.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of cheap
Adjective
  • Everything from the casting (male dancers, internet faves, and very few actual models) to the scenery (a 191-year-old venue with plenty of stained glass) to the ambiance (candlelit, with lots of bows and florals) embodied the brand's quintessential mix of romance, community, and nostalgia.
    — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 26 June 2026
  • Spread the mixture on the stained area; leave it for 15 minutes before wiping it away with a microfiber cloth.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 19 June 2026
Definition of stained
Adjective
  • Stronger and more flavorful than in your original lame iteration?
    — Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • On paper, some of the six, all of whom are far-right conservatives, have enviable educational backgrounds, but the record has proven that each one is openly political and willing to rubber-stamp nearly all of DeSantis’ lame and unconstitutional policies.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 June 2026
Definition of lame
Adjective
  • The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of blackened
Adjective
  • Completing the hat trick in pitiful style, Taking on the World was shot on a shoestring budget, helmed by the man behind Highlander III, and forced to rely on stock footage of real-life footballers.
    — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • Given the national team’s pitiful demise at the Oval, with New Zealand completing victory on the fifth morning, Ben Stokes’ revival in absentia feels like the only consolation from a miserable week.
    — Hector Vickers, New York Times, 21 June 2026
Definition of pitiful

Browse Nearby Words

grubbing (about)
grubby
grubs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on grubby

Nglish: Translation of grubby for Spanish Speakers

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