(尤指居住环境的)肮脏、破败、贫困的状态;令人不适的脏乱与凄惨境况。(也可泛指“道德败坏/堕落”,但较少见。)
/ˈskwɒlə(r)/
Many families were forced to live in squalor after the factory closed.
工厂关闭后,许多家庭被迫在肮脏破败的环境中生活。
The report described children growing up amid urban squalor, where overcrowding and poor sanitation made illness common.
报告描述了孩子们在城市贫民窟般的脏乱中长大:拥挤与卫生条件差使疾病变得常见。
squalor 来自拉丁语词根 *squal-*,与“粗糙、污秽、邋遢”相关;经由中古法语/英语的发展,逐渐固定为指“肮脏破败(常与贫困相连)的境况”。