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JustMe750
Member
Israel
Hebrew
- Nov 8, 2019
- #1
Hello,
Let's say I want to indicate that a particular woman struggles with finding a man (=a romantic partner) because she doesn't care about her looks: she doesn't use makeup, doesn't use a perfume, wears unappealing clothes, etc. Or, let's say I want to describe a particular man in a similar way, i.e., as someone who doesn't care about his looks
What would be a proper English adjective to describe a person with this kind of "attitude" towards his looks?
Thank you for your help
Florentia52
Modwoman in the attic
Wisconsin
English - United States
- Nov 8, 2019
- #2
Please give us the complete sentence in which you would use the adjective.
Florentia52
Modwoman in the attic
Wisconsin
English - United States
- Nov 8, 2019
- #3
My reply must have been cross-posted with your deletion.
Edited to add: But my most recent deletion wasn't quick enough to prevent the post below.
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JustMe750
Member
Israel
Hebrew
- Nov 8, 2019
- #4
Florentia52 said:
I don't see that someone should be called "slovenly" simply because he/she doesn't wear perfume or makeup or "appealing" clothes. I fit two and probably three of those categories, and I would take offense at the term.
Yes, Florentia, you're right. This is a matter of personal taste. I used perfume-wearing just as an example to explain my intention; obviously, a person doesn't have to wear perfume. What I meant was: "a person who doesn't have a great concern about smelling bad/unpleasant in the presence of other people".
owlman5
Senior Member
Colorado
English-US
- Nov 8, 2019
- #5
The adjective you choose depends on how critical you want to be, JustMe. I would probably choose something like slovenly if I wanted to make a remark about somebody who didn't care about whether he stank.
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JustMe750
Member
Israel
Hebrew
- Nov 8, 2019
- #6
owlman5 said:
The adjective you choose depends on how critical you want to be, JustMe. I would probably choose something like slovenly if I wanted to make a remark about somebody who didn't care about whether he stank.
I see.
Well, I would like to use this adjective in the context of dating websites etc., in the section in which a user is requested to indicate what qualities he would consider "bad" in his partner (e.g. "impolite, superficial..."). Would the adjective "slovenly" be proper in this context?
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The Newt
Senior Member
New England
English - US
- Nov 8, 2019
- #7
"Slovenly" is too negative a word. I would use something like "concerned about his / her appearance" and "not concerned..."
PaulQ
Senior Member
UK
English - England
- Nov 8, 2019
- #8
Slovenly is quite broad - it also takes in a person's personal and and social behaviour. If you are interested in the way he dresses scruffily/scruffy could work
owlman5
Senior Member
Colorado
English-US
- Nov 8, 2019
- #9
JustMe750 said:
I see.
Well, I would like to use this adjective in the context of dating websites etc., in the section in which a user is requested to indicate what qualities he would consider "bad" in his partner (e.g. ", impolite, superficial..."). Would the adjective "slovenly" be proper in this context?
Slovenly doesn't sound any worse to me than impolite or superficial do. If you're worried about sounding too negative, you might consider some phrase like careless in appearance. Unhygienic is a fairly clinical-sounding, neutral adjective that can be used to describe somebody who doesn't care about smelling bad in public.
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JustMe750
Member
Israel
Hebrew
- Nov 8, 2019
- #10
Thank you all (and especially Owlman)! I really appreciate your help
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