louche

adjective

ˈlüsh

Synonyms of louche next

: not reputable or decent

Did you know?

Louche ultimately comes from the Latin word luscus, meaning "blind in one eye" or "having poor sight." This Latin term gave rise to the French louche, meaning "squinting" or "cross-eyed." The French gave their term a figurative sense as well, taking that squinty look to mean "shady" or "devious." English speakers didn't see the need for the sight-impaired uses when they borrowed the term in the 19th century, but they kept the figurative one. The word is still quite visible today and is used to describe both people and things of questionable repute.

Examples of louche in a Sentence

it was a seedy neighborhood of louche nightclubs

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Here, the anxieties of the past all hang together in louche reconciliation. —

Christina Catherine Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2023 So an ocean of booze (with its attendant narcotics, violence and human trafficking) flows every evening on the louche fringes of Soho. —

Dallas News, 22 Sep. 2022 Berlin, where painters and photographers like Christian Schad and Otto Dix made a virtue of hard surfaces and louche life. —

Jason Farago, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2022 Wryly titled Happiness Not Included, Soft Cell’s new set mirrors the mix of darkly sardonic lyrics and electro-minimalist music that made their 1981 debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, a louche classic. —

Jim Farber, Vulture, 5 May 2022 See all Example Sentences for louche