cesspool

[ses-pool]

noun

1. a cistern, well, or pit for retaining the sediment of a drain or for receiving the sewage from a house.

2. any filthy receptacle or place.

3. any place of moral filth or immorality.

   a cesspool of iniquity.

cesspool

/ ˈsɛsˌpuːl, ˈsɛsˌpɪt /

noun

1. Also called: sink.  sump. a covered cistern, etc, for collecting and storing sewage or waste water

2. a filthy or corrupt place

   a cesspool of iniquity

Word History and Origins

Origin of cesspool¹

1575–85; cess (< Italian cesso privy < Latin rēcessus recess, place of retirement) + pool ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cesspool¹

C17: changed (through influence of _pool ¹ ) from earlier cesperalle, from Old French souspirail vent, air, from soupirer to sigh; see _suspire

Example Sentences

Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has falsely called mRNA vaccines “the deadliest ever made” and referred to the CDC as a “cesspool of corruption.”

From Salon

He thinks Los Angeles is a cesspool and that flying the Mexican flag in the United States is an act of insurrection.

From Los Angeles Times

He also turned the website into an even greater cesspool of misinformation and hate speech by gutting content moderation.

From Salon

Throw in Elon Musk’s degradation of the once lively discourse on Twitter into the disinformation and conspiracy cesspool of X.

From Salon

Failing to do so creates the opposite, and creates instead cesspools of hatred, crime, and other downward societal spirals.

From Salon