Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Careless or untidy in work or appearance: Describes something done without proper care, attention to detail, or neatness.
   • Excessively sentimental or emotional: Describes an overly emotional, mawkish, or maudlin quality, often in a negative or critical way.
   • Loose-fitting or baggy: Describes clothing that does not fit closely to the body.
   • Wet, muddy, or watery: Describes ground, terrain, or a surface that is soft, wet, and messy.
   • Wet or smeared with liquid: Describes a surface that is unpleasantly wet, often with spilled food or drink.

Examples of Usage

• Careless or untidy:
  • His report was full of sloppy errors and typos.
  • She was criticized for her sloppy handwriting.
• Excessively sentimental:
  • The movie's ending was too sloppy and sentimental for my taste.
  • He dismissed the poem as sloppy romanticism.
• Loose-fitting:
  • He wore a sloppy old sweater to relax in.
• Wet or muddy:
  • After the rain, the path became sloppy and difficult to walk on.
• Wet or smeared:
  • The waiter left a sloppy tray on the table.

Advanced Usage

• "Sloppy seconds" (idiom, informal, often derogatory): Refers to taking something, especially a romantic partner, that has already been used or rejected by someone else.
  • He didn't want to be accused of taking sloppy seconds.
• "Sloppy joe" (noun): A sandwich consisting of ground meat cooked in a seasoned tomato-based sauce, served on a bun.
  • The cafeteria is serving sloppy joes for lunch today.

Variants and Related Words

• Sloppily (adverb): In a careless, untidy, or overly sentimental manner.
  • The document was sloppily prepared.
• Sloppiness (noun): The quality or state of being sloppy.
  • The sloppiness of the work was unacceptable.

Synonyms

• Careless/Untidy: slapdash, slipshod, messy, untidy, haphazard.
• Sentimental: mawkish, maudlin, mushy, schmaltzy.
• Loose: baggy, loose-fitting.
• Wet/Muddy: boggy, marshy, mucky, muddy, quaggy, swampy.

Related Phrases

• Sloppy copy (noun): A rough, first draft of a written work.
  • Just write a sloppy copy first; you can edit it later.
• Sloppy kiss (noun): A wet, messy kiss.
  • The toddler gave her a big, sloppy kiss.

Related Idioms

• A sloppy mess: A state of complete disorder or untidiness.
  • His room was a sloppy mess of clothes and books.

Adjective

1. marked by great carelessness
   • a most haphazard system of record keeping
   • slapdash work
   • slipshod spelling
   • sloppy workmanship
2. excessively or abnormally emotional
3. not fitting closely; hanging loosely
   • baggy trousers
   • a loose-fitting blouse is comfortable in hot weather
4. (of soil) soft and watery
   • the ground was boggy under foot
   • a marshy coastline
   • miry roads
   • wet mucky lowland
   • muddy barnyard
   • quaggy terrain
   • the sloughy edge of the pond
   • swampy bayous
5. wet or smeared with a spilled liquid or moist material
   • a sloppy floor
   • a sloppy saucer
6. lacking neatness or order
   • a sloppy room
   • sloppy habits