sleaze

Etymology

Back-formation from sleazy, originally used to describe the thinness and low quality of cloth.

noun

1. (uncountable) Low moral standards.
   ministerial sleaze and mendacity 19 August 2004, London Review of Books
   The level of sleaze in this city seems to have been rising rapidly in recent years. January 11 1988, The New Yorker
2. (informal, countable) A person of low moral standards.
   She knew that sleaze Hakido would do something to stick the knife in and twist it to the hilt. 1999, E. Brewer, Picking Up the Marbles, AuthorHouse, page 162
3. (informal, countable) A man who is sexually aggressive or forward with women to the point of causing disgust.
   1989, Weekly World News, "My hubby robbed the cradle and left me with the baby", 7 November, p. 42. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that sleaze slept with your boss and I wouldn't take it lying down.
   Mother, he's such a sleaze! The way he looked at you! 1996, S. Hoskinson Frommer, Buried in Quilts, Harlequin, page 64
4. (informal, uncountable) sleazy material
   a tabloid newspaper full of sleaze

verb

1. To act or progress in a sleazy manner.
   He sleazed his way over to the women at the bar.
2. To slander.