dingy

adjective

din·​gy ˈdin-jē 

dingier; dingiest

1

: dirty, unclean

dingy fingernails

2

: shabby, squalid

a dingy hotel room

dingily

ˈdin-jə-lē 

adverb

dinginess

ˈdin-jē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• bedraggled
• befouled
• begrimed
• bemired
• besmirched
• black
• blackened
• cruddy
• dirty
• draggled
• dusty
• filthy
• foul
• grimy
• grotty [chiefly British]
• grubby
• grungy
• mucky
• muddy
• nasty
• smudged
• smutty
• soiled
• sordid
• stained
• sullied
• unclean
• uncleanly

Examples of dingy in a Sentence

He's been staying in a dingy motel.

the bed sheets were pretty dingy so we threw them in the laundry pile

Recent Examples on the Web

Aging terminals, clunky technology, and dingy aircraft can make the experience feel anything but glamorous. —Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Nov. 2024

In any case, any firm who’s product and processes aren’t AI enabled are going to look as old and dingy as firms who can’t enable web access to shopping and services today. —John Sviokla, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024

The four men in the dingy are not particularly deep or philosophical, and their lot in life is not metaphorical. —Trish Deitch, Variety, 20 Nov. 2024

After several months of traipsing through dingy slush and teetering precariously across unshoveled Denver sidewalks, my thermal Blundstone Chelsea boots look wrecked. —Beth Rankin, The Denver Post, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1691, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

dingy

adjective

din·​gy ˈdin-jē 

dingier; dingiest

: rather dark and dirty : not fresh or clean

a dingy room

dingy colors

dingily

-jə-lē 

adverb

dinginess

-jē-nəs 

noun