grubby
/'grʌbi/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Dirty, especially with ingrained dirt: Describes something that is not just superficially dirty, but soiled with dirt that seems embedded or ground in.
- Infested with grubs (insect larvae): Describes something, especially wood or plants, that is contaminated or damaged by the presence of grubs.
Noun:
- A type of small fish: A small sculpin (a type of fish) found along the coast of New England.
Usage and Examples
Adjective (Dirty):
- After playing in the mud, the child's hands were grubby.
- He refused to wear the grubby old shirt.
- The mechanic wiped his grubby fingers on a rag.
Adjective (Infested):
- The gardener disposed of the grubby apples that had fallen from the tree.
- The grubby wood was full of holes from the insect larvae.
Noun (Fish):
- We caught a few grubbies while fishing off the pier.
Advanced Usage
- Metaphorical Use: Can describe something morally questionable or sordid.
- The journalist was involved in some grubby business deals.
- The whole affair had a grubby feel to it.
Variants and Related Words
- Grubbily (adverb): In a dirty manner.
- The windows were grubbily streaked with rain.
- Grubbiness (noun): The state or quality of being grubby.
- The grubbiness of the room was off-putting.
Synonyms
- Adjective (Dirty): Grimy, filthy, soiled, begrimed, dingy.
- Adjective (Infested): Wormy, maggoty.
- Noun (Fish): Sculpin (a broader category).
Antonyms
- Adjective: Clean, spotless, pristine, immaculate.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- Grubby details: The unpleasant or mundane specifics of a situation.
- Let's not get into the grubby details of the contract negotiation.
- Grubby hands/money: Implies money obtained through dishonest or unethical means.
- He was accused of having grubby hands after the scandal.
Adjective
- thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
- a miner's begrimed face
- dingy linen
- grimy hands
- grubby little fingers
- a grungy kitchen
- infested with grubs
Noun
- small sculpin of the coast of New England