🇬🇧🇪🇸 squalid - sórdido : English Lesson

Meaning of "squalid" ("sórdido"), detailed definition, and a short video lesson below.

Squalid means a place is extremely dirty, smelly, and messy, usually because it has not been cleaned or cared for for a long time. A squalid room or house might have trash on the floor, stains on the walls, creepy old food in the corner, and a smell that makes you want to hold your nose. People usually feel uncomfortable or sad in squalid places because they look and feel so unpleasant.

Watch and listen to this English flashcard to understand the word in more detail, with an easy example sentence.

My brother’s squalid socks were banned from the living room by a family vote.

The fridge became so squalid that even the mold wrote a goodbye note and left.

I opened my lunchbox after vacation and discovered a tiny, squalid kingdom ruled by a moldy grape.

The dishwasher was so squalid that the plates came out dirtier than when they went in.

The sink became so squalid that the bubbles from the soap were too scared to come out of the bottle.

A girl found a small cat inside a squalid bin behind the café. The squalid alley smelled of old food and wet cardboard. The cat's fur was squalid with mud and oil, its eyes scared. She wrapped it in a squalid towel, washed the squalid coat with slow care, and carried the purring cat home, relieved.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation, spelling, and confidence in English. Watch the video above to memorize the word, understand its meaning, and see example sentences in action. Discover related words to grow your vocabulary naturally. Add words to your playlist for stress-free, effective learning—anytime, anywhere! Watch, learn, repeat.