descuidado
/deskwiˈdado/
In Spanish, the word for sloppy is descuidado.
The term is used to describe someone or something that is messy, not neat, elegant or careful. While it can refer to a lack of neatness, it also carries the sense of being neglected or careless regarding one's appearance or responsibilities.
Meaning: messy, not neat, elegant, or careful (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is formed from the prefix des- (un-) and the participle cuidado (cared for/taken care of), which literally translates to uncared for.
Which one should you use?
While descuidado can mean 'sloppy' in terms of neatness, it also carries the sense of being 'neglected' or 'careless' regarding responsibilities or appearance.
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, the form must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Use the feminine form descuidada for feminine nouns and the masculine plural form descuidados for masculine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/deskwiˈdado/
Did you know?
- While descuidado is the standard term for 'sloppy', someone who is excessively messy or disorganized is often called a desastre ('disaster') in casual conversation.
- In some Spanish dialects, describing a person as descuidado can be a subtle way of suggesting they lack 'educación', which refers to social manners and upbringing rather than schooling.
- While descuidado means 'sloppy', the word cuidado is frequently used alone as a warning shout, similar to 'Watch out!' or 'Careful!' in English.
Examples in context
- Tom es un pintor descuidado.Tom is a sloppy painter.This sentence uses descuidado to describe a painter.Tatoeba #5702307 by albrusgher, translation #1025147 by CK
- Su apariencia está desaliñadaHis/her appearance is sloppy
- Ella es muy negligente con su trabajoShe is very sloppy with her work
- La escritura de Juan es poco pulcraJuan's handwriting is sloppy
- Estás muy descuidado con tu aspectoYou look very sloppy
- No contrates a ese carpintero, es un chapuceroDon't hire that carpenter, he's sloppy
- La casa está abarrotada de cosas, está muy desordenadaThe house is messy, filled with stuff
- Su trabajo de dibujo es muy descuidado.His drawing work is very sloppy.
- No seas tan descuidado con tu ropa.Don't be so sloppy with your clothes.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are looking at a drawing.
- AlejandroMira este dibujo, es muy descuidado.Look at this drawing, it is very sloppy.
- SofíaTienes razón, no tuvo cuidado.You are right, he wasn't careful.
- AlejandroDebería borrar las líneas y repetir.He should erase the lines and redo it.
- SofíaSí, Sofía cree que puede mejorar.Yes, Sofía thinks he can improve.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry descuidado, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
