lousier; lousiest
1
: infested (see infest sense 2) with lice
the ragged, lousy tribesmen—
T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence2
a
: totally repulsive (see repulsive sense 3) : contemptible
a lousy way of getting even
b
: miserably poor or inferior
got lousy grades
c
: somewhat ill
felt lousy after dinner
d
: amply supplied : replete
lousy with money
3
of silk
: fuzzy and specked because of splitting of the fiber
Examples of lousy in a Sentence
She got lousy grades in high school.
I like the work, but the pay is lousy.
He was a lousy husband.
They did a lousy job.
He drank too much and felt lousy the next morning.
It's a lousy, rainy day.
That's a lousy way to treat a friend.
Recent Examples on the Web
On the stock market, a similarly lousy 1.96 (with 25 respondents assigned him a 1 out of 5), and a near equally bad 2.10 for his executive orders aimed at law firms – a direct shot at the rule of law that underpins America’s free enterprise system.
—Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Not to anyone who has ever sat through a lousy production of the play, perhaps at college, and found the character’s linguistic errors—his trademark—to be about as funny as athlete’s foot.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025
Not long ago, President Trump let loose on Truth Social about his frustration with new environmental consumer-product standards—lousy water pressure in showers, weakly flushing toilets.
—Diego Lasarte, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Two elite closers looking anything but on Wednesday afternoon, pitching the same lousy 9th.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lousy
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Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Not to anyone who has ever sat through a lousy production of the play, perhaps at college, and found the character’s linguistic errors—his trademark—to be about as funny as athlete’s foot.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025
Not long ago, President Trump let loose on Truth Social about his frustration with new environmental consumer-product standards—lousy water pressure in showers, weakly flushing toilets.
—Diego Lasarte, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Two elite closers looking anything but on Wednesday afternoon, pitching the same lousy 9th.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lousy
Cite this Entry
“Lousy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lousy. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lousy
adjective
lousier; lousiest
1
: infested with lice
2
a
: totally disgusting : contemptible
b
: of very poor quality
got lousy grades
c
: somewhat ill
felt lousy after dinner
d
: well supplied
lousy with money
Medical Definition
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