slea·zy / ˈslēzē/ • adj. (-zi·er, -zi·est) 1. (of a person or situation) sordid, corrupt, or immoral. ∎  (of a place) squalid and seedy: a sleazy all-night cafe.2. dated (of textiles and clothing) flimsy.DERIVATIVES: slea·zi·ly / ˈslēzəlē/ adv.slea·zi·ness n.

sleaze / slēz/ • n. immoral, sordid, and corrupt behavior or material, esp. in business or politics: political campaigns that are long on sleaze and short on substance. ∎ inf. a sordid, corrupt, or immoral person.• v. [intr.] inf. behave in an immoral, corrupt, or sordid way: you're the last person who has to sleaze around bars.

sleaze factor the sleazy or sordid aspect of a situation as applied to political scandals and alleged corruption involving officials of an administration. The term was applied initially, in US politics, to scandals and alleged corruption involving officials of the Reagan administration; in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s it was applied to a number of political scandals, resignations, and instances of alleged malpractice, such as the cash for questions affair.