filthy

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfɪlθi/ UK /ˈfɪlθi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
disgustingly dirty, or morally obscene

The alley was filthy with refuse.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · disgustingly dirty, or... dirty foul grimy squalid sordid obscene vile

Opposites

clean spotless pure immaculate

Word family

Forms filthily

Derived forms filthilyfilthiness

Related forms filth foul

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

filthy lucre
money viewed as dishonestly obtained or morally shameful

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English filthi, from Old English fȳlþ ('foulness, filth') + -ig; fȳlþ is from fūl ('foul'), from Proto-Germanic *fūlaz, from Proto-Indo-European *puH- ('to rot, stink').

fȳlþ Old English *puH- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# filthy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɪlθi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɪlθi/

## Meanings
1. disgustingly dirty, or morally obscene

## Examples
- The alley was filthy with refuse.

## Synonyms
- dirty
- foul
- grimy
- squalid
- sordid
- obscene
- vile

## Antonyms
- clean
- spotless
- pure
- immaculate

## Derived Forms
- filthily
- filthiness

## Related Forms
- filth
- foul

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fȳlþ
- Root: *puH-

## Etymology
From Middle English filthi, from Old English fȳlþ ('foulness, filth') + -ig; fȳlþ is from fūl ('foul'), from Proto-Germanic *fūlaz, from Proto-Indo-European *puH- ('to rot, stink').

## AI Etymology
Filthy comes from Middle English filthi, from Old English fȳlþ ('foulness, filth') + -ig; fȳlþ is from fūl ('foul'), from Proto-Germanic *fūlaz, from Proto-Indo-European *puH- ('to rot, stink'). Morphologically, the account is both compositional and suffixal: -ig marks the visible structure by which the older base becomes the modern form. In present use, it is used as an adjective meaning "disgustingly dirty, or morally obscene", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as filthily and filthiness and related forms such as filth and foul, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old English fȳlþ and Proto-Indo-European *puH-, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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