Word Adjective
lousy
adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈɫaʊzi/ UK /lˈaʊsi/ lousy
Definition
adj.very bad, poor in quality, or unpleasant. You use this when you are disappointed with something like a movie, the weather, or how you feel.
adj.of very poor quality; wretched or contemptible. Often used to describe physical health or the standard of a service.
Examples
“The weather was lousy during our entire vacation.”
“I feel lousy today, so I think I might be coming down with a cold.”
“Despite the high ticket prices, the acoustics in the new arena were lousy, leaving the audience frustrated by the muffled sound quality.”
Usage
Often follows a linking verb like 'feel', 'look', or 'be'.
Etymology
From Middle English lousy, lowsy, lousi, equivalent to louse + -y.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
This entry
Origin Middle English lousy
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated