Lousy
ˈlaʊzi
Definitions
3 meaningsExtremely bad or of very poor quality; unpleasant.
ˈlaʊzi
Extremely bad or poor in quality.
The food at the restaurant was lousy.
💡 Simply: Imagine you order pizza and it tastes awful, like the crust is burnt and the cheese is sour. You'd probably say it was lousy, meaning it wasn't good at all. It's like when something is so bad it's almost funny (in a sad way). For example: "That movie was so lousy, I walked out!"
👶 For kids: When something is super bad, like your ice cream melts all over the ground, that's lousy!
More Examples
He had a lousy day at work.
The service was lousy, and we won't be going back.
How It's Used
"The weather has been lousy all week."
"She gave a lousy performance in the play."
Infested with lice.
ˈlaʊzi
The soldiers lived in lousy conditions during the war.
💡 Simply: Imagine someone has lice in their hair. We can say their head is lousy, meaning they have a lot of little bugs.
👶 For kids: When you have bugs called lice on you.
More Examples
The stray dogs were often lousy.
The old, unkempt barracks was a lousy place to live.
How It's Used
"The homeless shelter was experiencing a lousy situation with lice."
Feeling unwell; miserable.
ˈlaʊzi
Feeling unwell.
I'm feeling lousy with a terrible headache.
💡 Simply: When you don't feel good—maybe you have a headache or a stomach ache—you might say you feel lousy. It’s like feeling yucky or unhappy in your body. For example: "I ate too much candy, and now I feel lousy."
👶 For kids: When you don't feel good, like you have a tummy ache.
More Examples
He stayed home from school because he felt lousy.
She felt lousy after the long flight.
How It's Used
"I'm feeling lousy today; I think I'm getting a cold."
Synonyms
Idioms & expressions
lousy with something
Abundant or overflowing with something, often unpleasant.
"The old house was lousy with spiders."
From Middle English *lousi*, derived from *lous* (plural of *louse*), referring to being infested with lice. The meaning expanded metaphorically to include anything of poor quality or unpleasant.
The word 'lousy' has a long history, originally referring to being infested with lice, and later expanding to encompass things of poor quality or unpleasant conditions.
Memory tip
Think of lice – an infestation is definitely a lousy situation!