different between loathsome vs squalid

English

Alternative forms

• loathesome

Etymology

From Middle English lothsum, from Old English *l?þsum, from Proto-West Germanic *laiþsam, equivalent to loath +? -some. Cognate with Middle Low German lêtsam (“arduous”), German leidsam (“sad, sorry”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l??ð.s?m/, /?l???.s?m/

Adjective

loathsome (comparative more loathsome, superlative most loathsome)

1. Highly offensive; abominable, sickening.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "loathsome" is often applied: disease, creature, thing, person, man, woman, dungeon, place, world, smell, act.

Derived terms

• loathsomely
• loathsomeness
• unloathsome

Translations

Further reading

• loathsome in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• loathsome in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• loathsome at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin squalidus, from squalere (“to be rough or dirty”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?skw?l?d/

Adjective

squalid (comparative squalider, superlative squalidest)

1. Extremely dirty and unpleasant.
2. Showing a contemptible lack of moral standards.

   A squalid attempt to buy votes.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

squalid (plural squalids)

1. (zoology) Any member of the family Squalidae of dogfish sharks.
   • 2008, David A. Ebert, James A. Sulikowski, Biology of Skates (page 126)

     Numerous diet studies on squalids have shown that members of this family tend to feed mainly on teleosts and cephalopods […]