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

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

Set in the late 1930s during the twilight of the Jazz Age and while the Nazi Party rises to power, the show focuses on the hedonistic nightlife of the seedy Kit Kat Club. —Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Oct. 2024

The crime thriller Caught Stealing follows Hank Thompson, a former baseball player who becomes enmeshed in the seedy underworld of 1990s New York. —Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 27 Sep. 2024

Colin Farrell is so damn good as Oz Cobb, a mid-tier mobster in Gotham’s seedy underworld. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Sep. 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