dingydin‧gy /ˈdɪndʒi/ adjective (comparative dingier, superlative dingiest) 
Word Origin
a dingy room a dingy side-street► see thesaurus at dirty—dinginess noun [uncountable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINdingy
ExamplesOrigin:
1700-1800 Perhaps from dungy ‘dirty’ (15-19 centuries), from dungEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- a dark, dingy basement
- He ate lunch in a dingy little cafe next to the station.
- The room was damp and dingy.
- However long she had been there, the whole stretch was a dingy aching trail of work and beatings.
- Normally Roberto shunned the low-class and dingy.
- Political consultants used to be little-known operatives working in dingy offices trying to elect better-known candidates.
- The girl felt a call coming like a flaming arrow across the dingy coffee bar.
- The newsagent stood next to the bookmakers in a parade of dingy shops.
- The room told me nothing. just a bare, impersonal space in a cheap, dingy hotel.
- Through the dingy gloom of this motionless train, I catch a first glimpse of my fellow travellers.
THESAURUS► dirty
dark, dirty, and in bad condition: not clean: · His clothes were untidy and he had dirty hands.
► filthy very dirty: · Each year filthy water causes millions of cases of illness.
► muddy covered with mud: · It had been raining hard and the path was muddy.
► dusty covered with dust: · the dusty shelves in the attic
► greasy covered with oil or grease: · Greasy food is bad for your health.
► grubby (also mucky British English) informal fairly dirty and needing to be cleaned or washed: · He was wearing a grubby white T-shirt.· mucky fingers
► grimy covered with thick dirt or dirt that has been there a long time: · I couldn’t see much out of the grimy windows of the train.
► dingy looking dark, dirty, and unpleasant. Used about rooms, houses, and buildings: · We worked in a dingy little office behind the station.
► polluted used about land, water, or air that has been made dirty: · 85% of city dwellers breathe heavily polluted air.
► contaminated made dirty by a dangerous substance or bacteria: · The virus is mainly spread through contaminated food.
► squalid formal extremely dirty and unpleasant. Used about the place or conditions in which someone lives: · People are living in squalid conditions, with little water and no sanitation.
► unhygienic formal used about dirty conditions that are likely to cause disease, especially conditions in kitchens, restaurants, and hospitals: · The food was prepared under unhygienic conditions.
► unsanitary (also insanitary British English) formal used about dirty conditions that are likely to cause disease, especially because there is not a good system for getting rid of waste: · People’s health is being threatened by overcrowded and insanitary homes.· They work for long hours in unsanitary conditions.
► soiled formal made dirty, especially by waste from your body: · Soiled nappies should be changed as quickly as possible.
Longman Language Activatordark and with little or no light► dark if a place is dark , there is little or no light: · Thick curtains covered the windows and the room was very dark.· I shrank back into the darkest corner of the room, and prayed that the soldiers would not see me.· No, you can't play outside, it's too dark.· It was a dark night and he was afraid they might get lost if they went across the fields.· Anyone who disobeyed him ran the risk of getting beaten up in a dark alley, or even killed.
► pitch dark/pitch black completely dark, so that nothing can be seen: · It's pitch dark in there. I can't see a thing.· Inside the cellar it was pitch black.
► gloomy a gloomy place or room is not at all bright or cheerful - use this especially in stories or written descriptions: · The bar was gloomy and smelled of stale cigar smoke.· I never liked visiting Dr Allen in his gloomy old study.
► dingy a room, street, or place that is dingy is fairly dark and usually dirty and in bad condition: · He ate lunch in a dingy little cafe next to the station.· The room was damp and dingy.
► darkened a darkened room or building is darker than usual, especially because its lights have been turned off or there are no lights: · The prisoner lay in a darkened room.· The production opens with a darkened stage, and the sound of a woman singing softly.
► dimly-lit an area or building that is dimly- lit is fairly dark because the lights there are not very bright: · a long, dimly-lit corridor· Madame Gloriana led the way into a dimly lit back room.
► unlit an area, building, or room that is unlit is dark because there are no lights on there: · The path was unlit, and she needed a torch to find her way.· Behind the gasoline pumps the unlit garage stood like a huge black shadow.
a dingy room a dingy side-street► see thesaurus at dirty—dinginess noun [uncountable]