I. squal·id ˈskwälə̇d also -wȯl- sometimes -wāl- adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Latin squalidus — more at squalor
1.
a. : marked by filthiness and degradation usually from neglect
exchanged … squalid and savage dress for a suit of Dutch cloth — Francis Parkman
ramshackle frame houses … notorious firetraps of squalid appearance — American Guide Series: New York City
ministering every year to … the poorest, the sickest, the squalidest human beings — Saturday Review
rickety tables … surmounted by … squalid overflowing ashtrays — John Wain
rueful squalid poverty that crawled by every wayside — John Morley
b. : run-down , shabby
life at a fashionably squalid preparatory school — New Yorker
2. obsolete
a. : dry
b. : shaggy
3.
a. : morally debased or repulsive : contemptible , sordid
a sublime prophet … or a squalid quack — La Selle Gilman
a series of rather squalid little affairs that everybody knew about and nobody mentioned — Ngaio Marsh
b. : lacking refinement or sophistication : crude
finds Voltaire's summary of ancient philosophy squalid — J.H.Seyppel
such imagination as he can detect is usually commonplace or squalid — Bernard De Voto
4. : marked by an unwholesome appearance
his complexion sallow and squalid — E.G.Bulwer-Lytton
Synonyms: see dirty
II. squa·lid ˈskwālə̇d adjective
Etymology: New Latin Squalidae
: of or relating to the Squalidae
III. squalid noun
( -s )
: a shark of the family Squalidae