What does squalor mean?
Word: Squalor
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Squalor means living conditions that are very dirty and unpleasant, usually because people have too little money.
Synonyms: filth, grime
Antonyms: luxury, splendour
Word origin: Taken directly from Latin in the 1600s.
How do you spell squalor?
Syllables: squal - or
Tricky part: British English is fond of our endings, as in colour and humour, so students add a u. This word ends in a plain or.
Watch out for: squalour, squaler, skwalor
Memory tip: Error and mirror end in a plain or, and squalor belongs with them.
Squalor in a sentence
Example 1: The charity helped families move out of squalor into clean new flats.
Example 2: An old report describes the squalor of the crowded lanes a hundred years ago.
Example 3: New drains and clean water slowly ended the squalor of the riverside colony.
Fun Fact
Novels by Charles Dickens often describe the squalor of poor parts of Victorian London.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) pallor
b) tremor
c) languor
d) squallor
Show answer
d) squallor. Pallor may keep two l letters, but this word stands on just one.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
1234567 LQOSAUR
a) 2465137
b) 4265317
c) 4625137
d) 4265137
Show answer
d) 4265137. Find the q and its u, then let the S in front of them set the rest going.
Sound Check
In which word is 'qua' pronounced differently?
a) quarrel
b) squalor
c) quaint
d) quality
Show answer
c) quaint. Quaint has the long a of paint; the others have the short vowel of quality.
Word Tally
You get 2 marks for each correctly spelt word in the list. How many marks will you score?
squalor, squadran, squander, squirel, squeamish, squabble
a) 10
b) 8
c) 6
d) 4
Show answer
b) 8. Squadron needs an o and squirrel a double r, so four words earn 2 marks each.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A newspaper report on squalor would probably describe ____.
a) long queues at a new cinema
b) broken drains and crowded rooms
c) gold taps and marble floors
d) heavy traffic on a new bridge
Show answer
b) broken drains and crowded rooms
2. When a family moves from squalor to comfort, life for them has become ____.
a) louder and faster
b) colder and wetter
c) cleaner and easier
d) older and slower
Show answer
c) cleaner and easier
