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 That outsider status, some former advisors and close watchers of Carney say, is precisely what gives him room to maneuver, with Canadians seeing him as above the grubby backroom dealing of traditional politics. — Desiree Adib, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026 Walsh’s spaceship deviates from many of the vessels seen in Star Wars, as those ships are often dirty and grubby to emphasize their use and wear. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026 Run the exhaust fan during and after every shower, replace towels frequently, and clean the bathroom every week to keep it from getting grubby in summer. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 July 2026 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
  • Some orphans, their faces filthy, walked the stands hawking candy.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Myriad violations, from food that should’ve been trashed weeks earlier to filthy equipment, befouled the state inspection of a West Miami-Dade supermarket this week.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of filthy
Adjective
  • The concentration of quaternary ammonia in the bucket with sanitizer is low (<100 ppm) and the water is visibly dirty.
    — NWA Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Many of the strongest initial applications are the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks that go unfilled, contribute to injuries, and pull people away from higher-value judgment and exception handling.
    — Navin Chaddha, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of dirty
Adjective
  • The production is a rattling junk drawer of circuit-bent thrift-store keyboards, dusty drum machines, and unintuitive loops, and KTO combines them into head-scratching, shouldn’t-work grooves.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Coming up from the intertidal, out of the dusty salt wind with his latest find under one arm, Tennent met a woman on her way down.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of dusty
Adjective
  • Investors now see access to cheap and reliable power as a precondition for European companies to compete long-term.
    — Sophie Dembinski, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Telehealth sites hit their first jackpot in the 2010s, when Viagra and other drugs for erectile dysfunction came off patent, allowing for the sale of cheaper generics.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheap
Adjective
  • Set your iron to its lowest setting—no steam—and place the stained area between two paper towels or lint-free cloths.
    — Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Pushing those briars aside revealed a single splinter of stained glass, bright as a ruby and warm as blood.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of stained
Adjective
  • Blumenthal hopes to see action on KOSA in the lame-duck session.
    — Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Only to see them, after winning elections, get strong-armed by the party, then offer lame excuses as to why.
    — Colleen Kujawa, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 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
  • Just 7% of Democrats approve, along with a pitiful 12% of independents.
    — Jon Keller, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Herbert's six interceptions is only surpassed by Drake Maye's pitiful start to the season.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of pitiful

Browse Nearby Words

grubbing (about)
grubby
grubs
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Cite this Entry

“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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