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malodorous

[mal-oh-der-uh s]
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adjective
  1. having an unpleasant or offensive odor; smelling bad: a malodorous swamp.
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Origin of malodorous

First recorded in 1840–50; mal- + odorous
Related formsmal·o·dor·ous·ly, adverbmal·o·dor·ous·ness, noun
Can be confusedmalodorous odious odoriferous odorous smelly stinky
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

baddecayedfetidfoulfrowzyfunkygamyhighinfestedlousymephiticmustynastynauseatingnoisomenoxiousoffoffensivepoisonousputrid

Examples from the Web for malodorous

Historical Examples

  • He embraced his daughter, and then again Pierre, and kissed him with his malodorous mouth.

    War and Peace

    Leo Tolstoy

  • But what was Milton doing in this malodorous and noisy assembly?

    Milton

    Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh

  • He saw the squalid tract of her vice, miserable and malodorous.

    Dubliners

    James Joyce

  • It has become a byword among the people as a malodorous cesspool.

  • He rose, went to the window, and cast forth the malodorous thing.

    Stover at Yale

    Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for malodorous

malodorous

adjective
  1. having a bad smell
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Derived Formsmalodorously, adverbmalodorousness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for malodorous

adj.

1832, from mal- "bad" + odorous. Related: Malodorously; malodorousness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper