dingy

[din-jee]

adjective

dingier, dingiest 

1. of a dark, dull, or dirty color or aspect; lacking brightness or freshness.

2. shabby; dismal.

dingy

/ ˈdɪndʒɪ /

adjective

1. lacking light or brightness; drab

2. dirty; discoloured

Other Word Forms

• dingily adverb
• dinginess noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dingy¹

First recorded in 1730–40; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of dingy¹

C18: perhaps from an earlier dialect word related to Old English dynge dung

Example Sentences

They started small - their first office was so dingy that Armani took the shades off the lamps in order to see the fabrics.

From BBC

In the end, she found a small door into a block of flats and says she was told to wait in a "dingy little hallway" for about half an hour.

From BBC

But the chilling truth of what they endured in a dingy ground floor flat remained a secret until the young girl's hysterical reaction on 21 March 2020.

From BBC

But there’s something dingy and gross, like mottled drifts of old snow, about the overweening influence of Trump’s courtiers and their grubbing relationship with a president so obviously enamored of money and flattery.

From Los Angeles Times

They were described as being "so dingy and dark that, even in broad day, they had to be lighted up by artificial means".

From BBC

Related Words

• dilapidated 
• dirty 
• drab 
• dreary 
• grimy 
• run down 
• seedy 
• shabby