α. 1500s–1600s slouenly, 1500s–1600s slouinly, 1600s slovinly, 1600s– slovenly.
β. 1500s slouinglie, 1600s slouingly, 1600s–1700s slovingly.
slovenlyadj.
/ˈslʌvnli/, U.S. /ˈsləvənli/, /ˈslɑvənli/ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > roguery > [adjective]
pautenerc1330
palliard1484
limmer?a1513
limmerful?a1513
slovenly?1518
knavish1552
patchingc1555
rascal1566
roguing1566
knaifatic1568
roguish1572
rascally1586
land-loping1587
Scanderbegging1593
cullionly1608
rogorous1609
loseling1624
scoundrel1643
schelmish1654
pickled1683
rapscallionly1699
scoundrelish1705
rapscallion1711
pickle1774
scoundrelly1790
picaresque1822
furciferous1823
scapegrace1830
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [adjective] > base or vile
low?c1225
lechera1300
vilea1300
feeblea1325
unfreec1330
villain1340
wrackc1375
villains1390
noughty1443
slovenly?1518
peasant1550
sluttish1561
vild1567
knaifatic1568
scallardc1575
base1576
tinkerly?1576
beggarly?1577
cullion-like1591
brokerly1592
broking1592
ignoble1592
cullionly1608
disnoble1609
unsolid1731
lowly1740
blackguard1751
blackguardly1779
menial1837
low-flung1841
caddish1868
basilar1884
bounding1904
bounderish1928
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > moral or spiritual impurity > indecency > [adjective] > lewd, bawdy, or obscene
lewdc1386
filthy?c1400
knavishc1405
sensual?a1425
ribaldousc1440
dishonestc1450
bawdya1513
ribald?a1513
ribaldious?1518
slovenly?1518
ribaldry1519
priapish1531
ribaldish?1533
filthous1551
ribaldly1570
obscene1571
bawdisha1586
obscenous1591
greasy1598
dirty1599
fulsome1600
spurcitious1658
lasciviating1660
smutty1668
bawdry1764
ribaldric1796
un-Quakerlike1824
fat1836
ithyphallic1856
hot1892
rorty1898
rude1919
bitchy1928
feelthy1930
raunchy1943
ranchy1959
down and dirty1969
steamy1970
sleazo1972
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.ij Cocke dyde set them there as knaues sholde be Amonge the slouenly sorte.
1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 22v Neither wt amorous gesture wounding the eye: nor with slouenly talke hurting the eares of ye chast hearers.
1589 A. Wingfield True Coppie Disc. 11 Our slouenly prest men, whome the Iustices..haue sent out as the scumme and dregges of their Countrey.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 184 Iohannes Erigena surnamed Scotus, a man renowned for learning, sitting at the Table behaved himselfe as a slovenly Scholler, nothing Courtly.
2. Of a person or (occasionally) an animal.
a. Untidy, dirty; habitually careless, indolent, or negligent with regard to appearance, personal hygiene, household cleanliness, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > [adjective] > of persons
sluttishc1405
slut?a1513
slovenly1548
slammerkin1742
flutteringc1830
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xviii. 139 Beeyng a slouenly felowe and vnsightly in his geare.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. I6v He that is borne vnder Capricornus shall be a slouenly, ill fauoured, and vncleane fellowe.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 44 The Germanes..are..more slovenly in their apparrell, in their Stoves and all manner of linnen.
1682 S. Pordage Medal Revers'd Epist. 3 The one being a much slovenlier Beast than the other.
1704 N. N. tr. T. Boccalini Advts. from Parnassus II. 22 These Slovingly Fellows all over daub'd with Blood.
1822 W. Irving Bracebridge Hall xxii A thin, elderly man, rather threadbare and slovenly.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous i, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 231 Do you suffer your youthful pupils to be indeed so slovenly and so saucy?
1885 Lancaster Gaz. 11 Mar. Severe mistress (to slovenly servant): ‘Maggie, I don't want to see this dust on the furniture again’.
1910 M. Bryant Anne Kempburn xxiii. 286 A very untidy woman, slovenly and down at heel.
1980 Jrnl. Spanish Stud. 8 90 A lazy, slovenly housewife, lounging around in hair curlers, her face encrusted with cold cream.
2000 Sun (Nexis) 31 July I just sat outside McDonald's watching them parade in and out in their tracksuits, all of them overweight, drab and slovenly.
b. Careless, negligent, or sloppy with regard to any activity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adjective] > careless, not thorough > specifically of persons > in work of any kind
slubberinga1591
slovenly1603
scamping1851
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 98 One who being bidden to reade over and peruse a poore seely Epigram..taketh on and fareth against the paper wherein it is written for being thicke, course or rugged; or against the writer, for [being] negligent, slovenly or impure otherwise.
1669 T. Coxe Disc. Interest of Patient 40 Apothecaries and their Servants are so Careless, Slovingly, and Slight in preparing of Dispensatory, or prescribed Medicines.
1749 D. Garrick Let. 22 Aug. (1963) I. 118 I must once again beg pardon for being so Slovenly in my writing; my Mind over runs My hand.
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 13 This author..is only slovenly and inaccurate, and not fallacious.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian v, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 126 The ground was partly cultivated, and partly left in its natural state, according as the fancy of the slovenly agriculturists had decided.
1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 29 Some slovenly and covetous brewers adopt the following dangerous and unfrugal practice.
1886 St. Stephen's Rev. 13 Mar. 11/2 She [sc. a mare]..is a slovenly fencer, but is a fairly good galloper.
1906 R. Stapleton-Cotton Cottage Gardens 10 Rain, sun, wind, frost and air will not be of much use to the idle or slovenly gardener.
1968 MLN 83 360 Goethe himself is a slovenly artist and a slipshod thinker.
2006 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 28 May 12 Only a slovenly writer will describe an aspidistra as ‘very unique’.
3. Of a condition, quality, action, or thing.
a. Characterized or marked by lack of attention to tidiness and cleanliness; untidy; dirty.In early use perhaps sometimes with stronger sense: repellent, disgusting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirty person > [adjective] > of their dress or habits
sluttishc1405
slovenlya1568
slatternly1655
mawkinly1656
slattern1680
sloven-like1800
sloven1821
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > [adjective] > of person, clothes, etc.
rowsey1565
slovenlya1568
sloven-like1569
uncompta1641
frowzy1710
blowzed1766
blowzyc1770
tousy1786
frowzled1808
sloven1821
hashy1825
tously1832
tousled1847
tuzzy-muzzy1847
unsleek1859
tousled-looking1860
slouchy1864
scraggly1869
frowzly1872
sploshy1881
schlumpy1956
streelish1974
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 14v Yet som warlike signe must be vsed, either a slouinglie busking, or an ouerstaring frounced hed.
1595 W. Phiston tr. Schoole Good Manners sig. B6v Let not thy nose be snottie..neither maist thou wipe the same vppon thy hat, cap, clothes, hand or sleeue: for, that is too slouenly.
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida Induct. sig. B As slouenly as the yeasty breast of an Ale-knight.
1682 J. Dryden Medall 17 A Heav'n, like Bedlam, slovenly and sad.
1711 F. Gastrell Princ. Deism Truly Represented i. 57 I met with a Parson in a Coffee-House, whose slovenly Habit and rough countenance invited me to droll upon him.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 456 This..offends me more Than in a churchman slovenly neglect And rustic coarseness would.
1809 N. Pinkney Trav. South of France 78 Railings..which are generally in a condition to give the country not only a naked but a slovenly appearance.
1834 Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. 111 Although the common class of Irish farmers are generally accused of slovenly habits.
1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner ix. 133 His person showed marks of habitual neglect, his dress was slovenly.
1950 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 9 Sept. 613/2 Slovenly handling of food is not only aesthetically unpleasant: it is a positive danger to health.
1996 Scotsman (Nexis) 26 May 5 Our loutish behaviour on the streets, slovenly dress and swearing are documented with alarm.
b. Characterized or marked by lack of care, effort, precision, or thoroughness; careless, sloppy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adjective] > careless, not thorough
overlyc1450
superficialc1456
sloven1532
sloven-like1569
perfunctory1592
slovenly1592
perfunctorious1599
cursory1601
cursorarya1616
slighty1619
cursitory1632
touch and go1682
passant1685
skimming1728
slapdashc1792
lax1812
slap-bang1815
slummocking1825
slobbery1832
percursory1837
slipshod1845
slip-string1854
slummocky1855
free and easy1864
unthorough1868
slurring1880
slummy1881
sploshy1881
skimmy1893
surfacy1975
drive-through1994
1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. h2 This first whome by his carelesse slouenlie gate at first sight I imagined to be a Poet.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Changeling (1653) ii. sig. D3 Hunger and pleasure they'l commend sometimes Slovenly dishes.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. xlii There is still a vast difference betwixt the slovenly Butchering of a Man, and the fineness of a stroak that separates the Head from the Body.
1748 Lady Luxborough Let. 27 June in Lett. to W. Shenstone (1775) 30 My slovenly garden, which cannot be weeded, nor in the least spruced up, till my hay is all in.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. (new ed.) I. 416 Inventing the most slovenly legend that ever was devised.
1777 F. Burney Jrnl. July in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1990) II. 279 You must suppose it spoken in a very slow & slovenly Voice.
1804 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 12 58 Many such proofs..shew great carelessness and the slovenly want of attention that seems so generally to prevail.
1816 W. Scott Black Dwarf ii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. I. 36 This slovenly and imperfect mode of cultivation left much time upon his own hands.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. viii. 148 Careless or slovenly handling of language.
1920 T. S. Eliot Let. 6 Dec. (1988) I. 425 His combination of slovenly journalese and parsonical zeal..was particularly depressing.
1965 D. Francis For Kicks ix. 120 I worked in a slovenly fashion.
2008 Glasgow Herald (Nexis) 5 Apr. 12 She maintained that use of the glottal stop was slovenly speech and indicative of a slovenly mind.
Compounds
slovenly looking adj. of slovenly appearance.
ΚΠ
1823 Morning Post 29 Nov. A stout, but slovenly looking young man.
1938 Speculum 13 209 All his weapons are rusty and soiled and slovenly looking.
2012 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 22 Feb. The clothes may be casual, but they are far from slovenly looking.
slovenly minded adj. lacking mental rigour or perspicacity.
ΚΠ
1868 W. Collins Moonstone in All Year Round 18 Jan. 122/2 Don't be slovenly-minded, Betteredge! One thing at a time.
1924 Burlington Mag. Dec. 311/1 Eventually the most slovenly-minded of mortals developed habits of comparative accuracy.
2010 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 21 Mar. We are a nation of slovenly minded hypocrites and self-righteous hysterics.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
slovenlyadv.
/ˈslʌvnli/, U.S. /ˈsləvənli/, /ˈslɑvənli/α. 1500s slouenly, 1500s slouenlye, 1600s– slovenly.
β. 1600s slouingly, 1600s slovingly.
In a manner characteristic of a sloven; carelessly, negligently; untidily.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adverb] > without thoroughness or exactness
lightlyOE
overly1440
superficially1526
slovenly1548
glancingly1556
overrunningly1561
cursorily1565
perfunctorily1581
sloven-like1589
cursoriwise1598
perfunctoriously1609
slubberingly1622
cursitorily1628
skimmingly1847
unscrutinizingly1891
sloppily1898
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > [adverb]
sluttily1440
untidilyc1440
sluttishly1491
slovenly1548
sloven-like1589
slouchingly1858
slouchily1890
messily1914
1548 R. Crowley Confut. Mishapen Aunswer sig. f.viiv But your Monkers must..at the last sosse vp all slouenlye, and blesse the people with the emptie cuppe.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Seneca in Panoplie Epist. 311 Let not your gowne sitt vppon your backe too nicely, nor yet weare it too slouenly.
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie i. ii. sig. C3 Lewd Precisians..take the simbole vp As slouenly, as carelesse Courtiers slup Their mutton gruell.
1633 T. Scot God & King 2 I may neither slovenly chop it into gobbits, nor curiously mince it to a gallamafrie.
1660 J. Gauden Κακουργοι 77 They will heal their hurts very slovenly, slowly, and ill-favouredly.
1713 A. Pope Narr. Robert Norris 9 I..hang my Clothes on somewhat slovenly.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 614 The churches are full of pictures slovenly painted on parchment.
1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss. Sloff, to eat greedily, dirtily, or slovenly.
1870 D. Rock Textile Fabrics (S. Kensington Mus.) Introd. p. c Every part was done in the feather-stitch, slovenly put down.
1908 Pharmaceut. Jrnl. 4 Apr. 443/1 A beautiful lady does not dress slovenly, but rather more expensively and carefully than does a plain one.
1958 College Composition & Communication 9 31/1 Of the remedial students, 25 felt that their companions' poor speech caused them to write and speak slovenly.
2000 Afr. News (Nexis) 11 June Management of the economy has been slovenly handled.
Compounds
With past participles forming adjectives, as slovenly-built, slovenly dressed, slovenly written, etc.
ΚΠ
1764 Beauties All Mag. Sel. 3 101/1 A dirty faced, and very slovenly dressed being..appeared.
1838 H. W. Herbert Cromwell I. iii. 44 ‘Give you good evening, Master Cromwell’, he said, addressing himself to the most slovenly-apparelled of the company.
1867 Harper's Mag. Feb. 279/1 The party of men assembled there..sat with their slovenly shod feet dangling over the arms of the chairs.
1886 W. J. Tucker Life E. Europe 236 The ‘cafetier’..was peremptorily addressing a sleek, slovenly-dressed waiter.
1895 New Eng. Kitchen Mag. Apr. 41/1 A slovenly attired woman never knows the self-respect of the well-gowned woman.
1919 I. D. Bennett Making Flower Garden xxii. 226 The mourning dove..is common wherever trees for the construction of its slovenly-built nest grow.
1940 French Rev. 13 423 Poorly-arranged and slovenly written material.
2010 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 25 July Standing at the school gates, he refused to allow in slovenly dressed children.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.?1518
adv.1548