Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SLOVENLY
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Back in college, my roommates and I had some slovenly habits. Our kitchen was gross: stacks of dishes in the sink, old pizza boxes on the counter.
It a slovenly kitchen, or a fr__sy one: one that looks messy, dirty, sloppy, or unwashed. Can you recall that synonym?
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"SLOVENLY"
We're not sure where the word "sloven" came from, but it's been in English since the year 1475 or so.
To put it politely, the first meaning of "sloven" was "a person with no manners" or "a person with no morals."
The meaning loosened up, though, to just "slob" or "sloppy person."
And so today, slovenly things or people are those that look sloppy, dirty, untidy, or unclean.
Pronunciation:
SLOV un lee
Part of speech:
Adjective: "their slovenly behavior," "their writing is slovenly."
Other forms:
For a noun, use "slovenliness," or the rarer but more fun-to-say "slovenry."
Some writers have used "slovenly" as an adverb, as in "The problem was slovenly handled" or "They were dressed slovenly," but I don't recommend doing this--it sounds like an error.
How to use it:
This word is formal and critical.
Talk about slovenly people and characters and their slovenly clothes, hair, appearances, ways, manners, behaviors, work, writing, etc.
examples:
"Dispensing with his usual jeans and a T-shirt, he wore a skinny tie and a black suit, a costume that made him look less like a slovenly everyman than the showbiz star that he is."
— Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 9 September 2016
"[The television show] Pulling...was pulled in 2008 after two series on the BBC, but it established Horgan’s reputation for filth. Not just pigs rutting in muck filthy, but the filth plundered from the slovenly depths of the human psyche for the sake of a laugh."
— Nosheen Iqbal, The Guardian, 7 March 2017
has this page helped you understand "slovenly"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "slovenly" without saying "messy" or "unkempt."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "_____ is the most slovenly (habit I have, item in my wardrobe, episode in the season, recipe in the collection, etc.)."
Example: "This shapeless gray shirt is the most slovenly item in my wardrobe. I love it. It says 'AFTER THIS WE ARE GETTING TACOS.'"
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
This month, we're playing "What's the Word?"
On Reddit, r/whatstheword is a community of about 55,000 members: folks who gather to help each other out when they can't think of a particular word. "It's on the tip of my tongue," they say. Or, "This word might not even exist. Help!"
In each issue this month, check out a post from the community, and see if you can come up with the word or phrase in question. We'll work our way from relatively easy to extremely hard questions as the month goes on.
From the previous issue: A community member asked, "Is there a word for this feeling? Sometimes I can't finish watching a TV show, or movie, because the scene is so awkwardly painful to watch. For example, The Office does this all the time. Sometimes the scene is just so stupid, where the time until when the conflict is resolved just drives me nuts and I can't finish it. The feeling is worse when I've already seen it, and know what's coming. I think what the creators were going for in this case is schadenfreude, but instead of feeling pleasure at the (fake) pain caused to the character, I feel anxiety. Is there a word for this?"
Answer: fremdscham.
Try this today: A community member asked, "Is there a word for the situation in a TV series always returning to normal at the end of the episode, regardless of what’s happened? Always Sunny is a good example."
I'll share the answer in the upcoming issue, but if you can't wait, you can view the whole original thread here.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of SLOVENLY is
A. PRIM.
B. COMPLETE.
C. WELL-BALANCED.
2. The album's vibe is slovenly, as if it had been _____.
A. edited by a team
B. recorded in one afternoon
C. stripped of its fire and angst
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Back in college, my roommates and I had some slovenly habits. Our kitchen was gross: stacks of dishes in the sink, old pizza boxes on the counter.
"SLOVENLY" We're not sure where the word "sloven" came from, but it's been in English since the year 1475 or so.
"Dispensing with his usual jeans and a T-shirt, he wore a skinny tie and a black suit, a costume that made him look less like a slovenly everyman than the showbiz star that he is."
Explain the meaning of "slovenly" without saying "messy" or "unkempt."
Fill in the blanks: "_____ is the most slovenly (habit I have, item in my wardrobe, episode in the season, recipe in the collection, etc.)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of SLOVENLY is
|