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manky

manky

1 9.9
Being dirty and unpleasant and of low quality
  • adjective
  • /ˈmæŋki/
  • Slang
translation icon : sucio
  • We've been reduced to using seawater for everything but drinking... so don't be alarmed if the kit you get is a little bit manky.

Just be careful and let me buy you a nice razor so you don't have to use your dad's manky old one.

Examples

  • Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?

  • I'm feeling a bit manky.

  • She had that manky hair and dark pencil around the eyes, the way they wear it in London.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Also, my grapes (the house and garden being only mine for one year) are moldy and powdery white and very manky looking.

    Blog text (7)
  • That restaurant was so manky that I couldn't finish my meal.

  • He wore a manky shirt that looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks.

  • The park was covered in manky litter after the festival ended.

Synonyms

lousy
vsmanky
  • Informal
562 4.1

Very bad or mean and not liked by people

is more about being dirty or shabby rather than general badness
crummy
vsmanky
  • Informal
56 6.7

Low quality and unpleasant

focuses more on dirt and disgust rather than just poor quality
mangy
vsmanky
  • Offensive
28 6.5

Worn and dirty, in bad condition

is broader, covering general unpleasantness not only worn appearance
ratty
vsmanky
  • Informal
19 5.4

Looking worn and dirty from use

is used more generally for things that are dirty or worthless
cruddy
vsmanky
  • Informal
4 6.0

Dirty and not good quality

is stronger by implying worthlessness as well as dirtiness
gunky
vsmanky
1 7.7

Covered with sticky, dirty stuff

is more general about being dirty or of poor overall quality
poopie
vsmanky
  • Informal
1 9.2

An informal word used to say something is bad or low quality

is a broader descriptive term stressing dirt and unpleasantness rather than playfulness
mussy
vsmanky
1 7.4

Untidy and dirty, with things out of place

is narrower by focusing on mess and untidiness rather than general worthlessness
mank
vsmanky
  • Slang
9.9

Very dirty and unpleasant to touch or use

is a general term for dirty, unpleasant, or poor quality

Antonyms

1.0

Very good and better than most similar things

1.0

Free from dirt or harmful things

How Dirty

filthy
183 1.5
manky
  • Slang
1 9.9
dirty
525 1.0

Surface Forms

manky positive

Morphology

manky = mank + y

Although it looks like an adjective formed with the productive suffix '-y', the root 'mank' is nonstandard/colloquial and not a recognizable base for typical learners, so the meaning cannot be reliably derived from components.

Etymology

Manky is British slang for something 'dirty', 'unpleasant', or 'of poor quality'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the similar word mangy, which describes a sick, shabby animal; both give the image of something grubby, so manky came to mean 'filthy' or 'worthless'.