Meanings
dirtful1
comparative more dirtful · superlative most dirtful
- rareCharacterised by dirt or dirtiness; dirty
India very hot, very dirtful.
1993, Rózsa Hajnóczy, William Radice, Fire Of Bengal, page 371 more example
She also added that "So far I have contributed to the occult and arcane and most secret gayety of nations BUT you know you must be careful as papa is most slimely dirtful and says, 'now you have been so frank with me, I will be frank with you between ourselves' and out comes some scrap of flea morsel."
1985, Barbara Guest, Herself Defined: The Poet H.D. and Her World, page 213
dirtful2
plural dirtfuls
- An amount of dirt
Actually, the work became one of personal pride, and each dirtful was carefully laid on the side of the hole until there was a pretty good foxhole being dug.
2000, Alfred Shands, Border crossing: connecting the secular and the sacred, page 881 more example
It's not that these reasons worry me - after all, they are all my own doing, each like a dig with the spade in the process of digging, dirtful by dirtful, that deep ditch which I have to dig consistently and eternally so that it may be, […]
1997, Imre Kertész, Kaddish for a child not born, page 5
Origin
Cite this entry
dirtful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirtful
“dirtful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirtful. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dirtful,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirtful.
Source: dirtful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.