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

The lavish, semi-immersive revival is set at a seedy Berlin nightclub pre-World War II. —Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 30 Apr. 2024

Be sure to check plants every 2 or 3 days and pick fruit when small and less seedy. —Dawn Pettinelli, Hartford Courant, 9 Mar. 2024

In one standout episode, a mom (Jaime King) and her daughter (Zoe Marlett) navigate a house full of seedy human survivors, communicating non-verbally via a threat-assessment card game whose rules are known only to them before unleashing holy hell. —David Faris, theweek, 20 May 2024

Or bad guys, in this case featuring a murder most foul in the notoriously seedy demimonde of Upper West Side co-ops. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 4 Apr. 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