as in sloppy
lacking neatness in dress or person
for the sake of their image, the band members transformed themselves from clean-cut lads to slovenly rockers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in sloppily
in a careless or unfashionable manner
an employee who went overboard on dress-down day and was reprimanded for dressing slovenly on the job
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slovenly
Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2023
In this era of slovenly journalism and educational malpractice, National Review Institute’s devotion to authentic history, reasoned debate, and insightful commentary is invaluable.
—Peter J. Travers, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
Keith Richards’ and Ron Wood’s guitars are crisp and uncluttered, with most of the slovenly strumming of the past banished.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2023
Trump’s bizarre and slovenly behavior with classified material was a disgrace.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for slovenly
Adjective
Slough House is headed by the slovenly, flatulent, and frequently intoxicated Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who routinely heaps verbal abuse on his staff.
—Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2023
In this era of slovenly journalism and educational malpractice, National Review Institute’s devotion to authentic history, reasoned debate, and insightful commentary is invaluable.
—Peter J. Travers, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
Keith Richards’ and Ron Wood’s guitars are crisp and uncluttered, with most of the slovenly strumming of the past banished.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2023
Trump’s bizarre and slovenly behavior with classified material was a disgrace.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for slovenly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slovenly
Adjective
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The latest: The Cavs looked sloppy and tired at points this week, but still gutted out comeback wins against Miami, Charlotte and Brooklyn.—
Sam Allard,
Axios,
12 Mar. 2025
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There’s also the possibility that when you get fatigued, your muscles may not be as able to fully support your knee, and your footwork can get sloppier, making the possibility of an awkward twist all the more likely.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Close on either side were eerie woods flooded with shallow swamp water, the trees’ shaggy trunks festooned with air plants and the occasional ghost orchid.—
Stanley Stewart,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Mar. 2025
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Natasha Lyonne, who’s back as shaggy amateur detective Charlie Cale, was floored watching Erivo dip in and out of so many roles, which include a DJ, a professor, an artist, and an apple picker.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA TODAY,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Most wine lovers know that the word Sauvignon comes from the French word sauvage and the word blanc simply means white, but most people don’t know the reason is because when untrained vines of the variety have a distinctly unkempt appearance.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
4 Nov. 2024
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But, as in these United States, the key question remains whether creeping totalitarianism — from the left and the right — will squeeze everyday people out of their inalienable right to just be their sometimes obnoxious, unkempt, idiosyncratic selves.—
Ed Wallace,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2024
Adjective
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Where Olive is messy, untidy, and unconcerned about the state of her apartment, Florence is obsessively clean, tidy, and obsessed with hygiene.—
Kay Johnson,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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Without easy access, harder to reach shelves can get overlooked (and become untidy).—
Jordan Goldberg,
Architectural Digest,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Orlando took the helm of the memorial effort in late 2023 amid the messy collapse of the private onePulse foundation.—
Stephen Hudak,
Orlando Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2025
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Data preparation tasks—from cleaning messy data to integrating disparate sources—consume a lot of time and effort for data teams.—
Suri Nuthalapati,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slovenly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slovenly. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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