seedy

adjective

ˈsē-dē 

seedier; seediest

1

: containing or full of seeds

a seedy fruit

2

: inferior in condition or quality: such as

a

: shabby, run-down

seedy clothes

b

: somewhat disreputable

a seedy district

a seedy lawyer

c

: slightly unwell : debilitated

felt seedy and went home early

seedily

ˈsē-də-lē 

adverb

seediness

ˈsē-dē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• beat-up
• bombed-out
• dilapidated
• dog-eared
• down-at-the-heels
• down-at-heel
• down-at-the-heel
• down-at-heels
• dumpy
• grungy
• mangy
• mean
• miserable
• moth-eaten
• neglected
• ratty
• run-down
• scrubby
• scruffy
• shabby
• sleazy
• tacky
• tatterdemalion
• tatty
• threadbare
• timeworn
• tumbledown

Examples of seedy in a Sentence

He was wearing a seedy suit.

a seedy area of the city

Recent Examples on the Web

Worse yet, a seedy private eye (Kevin Bacon) starts invading Maxine’s personal space and threatens to expose her murderous past. —Tim Lammers, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024

Myth No 2: My kid knows to stay away from seedy drug dealers. —Jill Grimes, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024

Sadler’s path involved a tiny independent label, a monotonous job, custom records, seedy promoters and a corrupt music chart. Dets. —Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024

Throughout a career of over 40 years, the author’s works — among them a series of true-crime books about the Menendez brothers (Resentment: A Comedy) and Andrew Cunanan (Three Day Fever) — documented the seedy vanities and sorrows of American life. —Brandon Sanchez, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

seedy

adjective

ˈsēd-ē 

seedier; seediest

1

: containing or full of seeds

a seedy fruit

2

: not being in good shape : shabby

seedy clothes

seediness noun